China's Xi says trade war with US will have 'no winners'

BEIJING

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Tuesday that a trade war with the United States would result in "no winners," state media said, ahead of next month's inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.

The former U.S. president unleashed a grueling trade war with China during his first term in office, lambasting alleged intellectual property theft and other "unfair" practices.

He has pledged to impose even higher tariffs on China after taking office next month, just as Beijing is grappling with a shaky post-pandemic economic recovery.

"Tariff wars, trade wars, and technology wars go against historical trends and economic rules—and there will be no winners," Xi said of China-U.S. relations while meeting several heads of multilateral financial institutions in Beijing, according to broadcaster CCTV.

"China is willing to maintain dialogue with the U.S. government, expand cooperation, manage differences, and promote the development of China-U.S. relations in a stable, healthy, and sustainable direction," said Xi.

Beijing is targeting annual growth this year of around five percent, despite sluggish domestic consumption, high unemployment, and a prolonged crisis in the vast property sector.

Xi also said during Tuesday's meeting that China had "full confidence" in achieving its 2024 growth goal, state media reported.