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BEIJING (AP) — China's government defended itself Thursday as a supporter of free trade after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for commerce secretary criticized its tactics.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying pointed to President Xi Jinping's appeal to avoid protectionism in a speech this week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
"Who is sincerely pushing ahead with liberalization of trade and investment and who is exercising trade protectionism should be clear for all to see," Hua said at a news briefing.
Trump, who takes office Friday, promised during his campaign to respond to what he called unfair Beijing trade tactics by raising tariffs on Chinese goods and possibly imposing other penalties.
His nominee for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, criticized China on Wednesday for excess steel and aluminum production and said he would look closely at potential anti-dumping cases.
"It's a little weird that we have very low tariffs and China has very high tariffs," Ross said.
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