CHINA triggered the World Trade Organisation disputes mechanism today as a trade row sparked by US President Donald Trump escalated.

The Commerce Ministry said it had made a “request for consultations,” which will trigger WTO talks with Beijing and Washington on the dispute that began when the US imposed tariffs on Chinese aluminium and steel.

China hit back with tariffs of its own, mostly on US agricultural products, which have in turn prompted new US threats to slap import duties on high-tech products.

Deputy Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen has defended the Made in China 2025 industrial strategy, which sets targets for Chinese firms’ share of the market in certain sectors as part of efforts to develop home-grown “global leaders” in various fields.
Foreign businesses complain that operating in China means sharing technology.

President Trump denied that the tit-for-tat measures amounted to a trade war, saying “that war was lost many years ago” by his country.