China doesn't want trade war with US: commerce minister

China's Commerce Minister has said that China does not want to be in a trade war with the United States, but it is ready to respond to any challenges in trade and defend its national interests.

On the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress, commerce minister Zhong Shan told reporters that trade wars have no winners.

The remarks followed the US imposition of 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, which have triggered opposition from around the world.

At the press conference, Zhong Shan highlighted the progress in the Sino-US trade and economic cooperation in the past decades.

Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang answers questions at a press conference on speeding up the construction of innovative country on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

"China and the US have had diplomatic ties for almost 40 years. Their bilateral trade and economic ties are getting closer. The volume of trade has grown by 232 times during the 40 year period. Have you ever seen two other countries experience such growth in such a short period? Two-way investment has exceeded 230 billion US dollars, which means the two economies are complementary and boast huge cooperative potential."

But the minster also acknowledged that there are still some outstanding issues between the two sides when it comes to trade cooperation.

"The calculation of trade statistics varies between the US and China. Chinese and American statistical working groups, with experts from government and other institutions, undertake research on these differences every year. According to their research, the US overestimates its trade deficit with China by an average of 20 percent a year."

Zhong went on to explain that there are structural reasons for the trade imbalance that does exist between China and the US.

"The trade imbalance between China and the US is a structural one. China has a surplus in the trade of goods, and the US runs a surplus in the trade of services. I think the competitive edge in trade basically lies in the strengths of the different industries. The imbalance between China and US trade also relates to US regulation on its high-tech exports to China. A US report shows that if regulations were eased, the US trade deficit with China could be reduced by about 35 percent."

Earlier this month, a senior economic and finance official from China, Liu He, met with U.S. officials. During their talks, both sides agreed to settle their trade disputes by cooperation rather than confrontation.

Zhong Shan stressed that the two sides hadn't stopped their dialogue on economic matters, and that the exchange of dialogue between the two countries would continue.