Further Trump trade tariffs threaten to turn into trade war with China<\/b><\/p>\n
Ongoing trade debates between the US and China intensified in March when Donald Trump announced a 25% tax on steel imports<\/a> into the US, and other reported tariffs<\/a> on up to $60 billion (43 billion pounds) of Chinese imports.<\/span><\/p>\n Both policies are set to have an impact on the Chinese economy, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, stating that China \u201cresolutely opposes any kind of unilateral protectionist trade measures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf the United States takes actions that harm China\u2019s interests, China will have to take measures to firmly protect our legitimate rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As we have previously reported<\/a>, the UK could benefit from such a trade war if China starts to look elsewhere for investment and trade opportunities in the West, as well as if China decides to implement a travel ban to the US, just as it did to South Korea in response to South Korea\u2019s domestic collaboration with the US military<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The IMF and WTO have criticised the policies, but Trump believes the measures will protect American jobs, and also declared this month that trade wars were \u201cgood and easy to win<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n China\u2019s trade surplus with the US currently stands at $375 billion (\u00a3269 billion).<\/span><\/p>\n Hopes for increased travel and trade as three direct UK-China flights are confirmed<\/b><\/p>\n March was a good month for UK-China flights, with direct routes between Beijing – Edinburgh, Xi\u2019an – London and Changsha – London all confirmed.<\/span><\/p>\n The London flights launched in March, with the Edinburgh flights to begin in June. The flights follow an agreement signed in February that an extra 50 flights between the UK and China are to be permitted this year.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Hainan Airlines will run the Changsha – London route and Beijing – Edinburgh routes, and already run a direct flight between China and Manchester. Edinburgh is the second most popular destination for Chinese tourists in the UK, behind London.<\/span><\/p>\n A previous direct flight between Chengdu and London was dropped by British Airways in 2016<\/a>\u00a0after being found to be \u2018not commercially viable\u2019, so it is hoped the newly announced flights will have more success and demand.<\/span><\/p>\n Stephen Hawking, a star in China, is mourned with half a billion clicks<\/b><\/p>\n Stephen Hawking\u2019s death in March was mourned in the UK and worldwide, but his cult status in China meant it drew nearly half a billion clicks from inside China alone.<\/span><\/p>\n