Trump Official Warns China Against Penalizing Companies Investing in US

The Trump administration warned China not to retaliate against foreign companies that help the United States develop critical industries after Beijing last week sanctioned U.S. units of a South Korean shipping giant over plans to invest in the American shipping industry.

“China’s recent retaliatory actions against private companies around the world are part of a broader pattern of economic pressure to influence American politics and control global supply chains by preventing foreign companies from investing in America’s shipbuilding and other critical industries,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement Monday.

Greer’s warning is the latest step in a long-running series of maritime disputes between the United States and China, which account for more than half of the world’s shipbuilding and have sought to increase control over the critical South China Sea in recent years. The war has implications for the global economy, as ships are responsible for transporting more than 80% of international trade.

Although the United States has the world’s most powerful navy, its shipbuilding capacity is relatively low. That’s why the Trump administration has sought to support U.S. shipbuilding by inviting investment from South Korea, the world’s second-largest shipbuilder.

The sanctions China announced last week directly hit this effort; It banned individuals or entities in China from dealing with U.S. units of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean Co. while threatening more retaliatory measures against the industry.

“Attempts at intimidation will not prevent the United States from rebuilding its shipbuilding base and responding appropriately to China’s targeting of critical industrial sectors for dominance,” Greer said.

It is far from the only example. Both sides imposed special port charges on each other’s commercial ships, which took effect last week. The US is also preparing to impose a 100% tariff on imports of essential port equipment from China and a 150% import duty on other cargo handling equipment. Trump has sought to minimize Chinese companies’ control over critical global ports, including around the Panama Canal.

Shipping is one of several points of contention in China-US relations that have kept global investors on edge in recent days. Beijing has tightened export controls on rare earth elements, among other measures, while the US has expanded restrictions on China’s access to chips and threatened the country with 100% additional tariffs.

Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump said he expects to discuss China’s regional goals for the self-governing island of Taiwan when he meets his counterpart Xi Jinping at next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea. The president sidestepped questions about whether he expected China to make trade concessions in exchange for Taiwan-related demands.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.