Kuala Lumpur - China is prepared to hold dialogue with the
United States on the escalating trade war, but will fight if needed,
its top defence official said on Sunday.
"On the trade friction started by the US: if the US wants to talk, we
will keep the door open," Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said
during a three-day international security dialogue in Singapore. "If
they want to fight, we will fight to the end."
Wei, dressed in the green People's Liberation Army uniform, was
speaking at the podium of the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore, which
has seen top defence representatives converge on the city-state to
discuss security issues until Sunday.
Wei's comments come amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions between
the two superpowers, marked by a blistering trade war, accusations of
growing Chinese militarization of the disputed South China Sea, and
allegations of US interference in self-ruled Taiwan, which China
claims as its own.
Beijing asserts that Washington is solely to blame for the trade war,
in a white paper released on Sunday.
"China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it
will fight one if necessary," it says, while also repeating that the
country is willing to negotiate.
"During consultations, a country's sovereignty and dignity must be
respected, and any agreement reached by the two sides must be based
on equality and mutual benefit," the text reads.
Talks between Washington and Beijing on trade broke down last month,
resulting in a hike in tariffs on 200 billion dollars' worth of
Chinese goods. China has fired back with tariffs on 60 billion
dollars of goods from the US.
China has also threatened to choke the supply of rare earths to the
US, a vital component in many electronic devices.
And on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported that
Chinese authorities had launched an investigation into US courier
service FedEx after it diverted several packages sent by Huawei to
the United States.
Huawei has become a central pawn in the conflict. The US accuses the
Chinese tech firm of stealing trade secrets, attempting to breach
Iran sanctions and facilitating the Chinese government's spying. It
has not shown evidence to back the spying accusation.
Adding to the tensions, Washington has also been increasingly
frustrated with efforts to halt Chinese militarization in the
disputed South China Sea, despite frequent freedom-of-navigation
patrols led by the US.
The maritime corridor - which faces competing claims by five other
countries - is regarded as highly strategic, as trillions of goods
pass through it annually and is abundant in fisheries and oil and gas
reserves.
"It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state to carry out
construction on its own territory," Wei said in Singapore. "China
builds limited defence facilities on the islands and reefs for
self-defence."
Wei also hit out against US support for Taiwan, saying "no attempts
to split China will succeed."
"Any foreign interference in the Taiwan question is doomed to
failure," he said, warning that while China would strive for the
prospect of peaceful reunification, "we make no promise to renounce
the use of force."
Wei's address comes a day after a speech by US Acting Secretary of
Defence Patrick Shanahan, which denounced China for using a "toolkit
of coercion" that "erodes other nations' sovereignty and sows
distrust of China's intentions."