Time to rethink the stance of the Sino-US trade war given consequences of the pandemic, says Park

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Albert Park, Director of the Institute, tells BBC Chinese that he believes the relationship between China and US will almost certainly deteriorate no matter who wins the US presidential election later this year. Although China might break the first stage of the trade agreement, Park believes both countries should bear the same responsibility. COVID-19 causes supply shortage in the US, which forces may US manufacturers to close down their businesses and US was not able to export to China. COVID-19 has triggered global economic recession, he suggests it is time to rethink the stance of the Sino-US trade war.

The trade war supposedly intended is to force China to implement private property right and yield a fairer environment for US companies in the long run in which short term loss can be offset by the long run benefit. However, given the current economic crisis brought by COVID-19, the US may choose to de-escalate the trade war for short-term economic considerations, though US is likely to continually blame China due to political reasons. The trade war is detrimental to the two largest economies in the world, and escalating the trade war will further worsen the situation. Waiving the tariff can reduce the cost of consumption and production, which will immediately benefit consumers and producers of the two countries.

Read the news articles published on 18 May 2020 on both BBC Chinese and Hong Kong Economic Times. Both of the articles are in traditional Chinese. 

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