WASHINGTON: Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng on Friday criticized the impact on agriculture brought by trade war and rising protectionism at a China-U.S. soybean industry reception.
“Agriculture should not be politicized, and farmers should not pay the cost of trade war,” Xie told the U.S.-China Partner Breakfast Reception, which was attended by the U.S. Soybean Export Council and a Chinese agricultural delegation.
He also slammed attempts to restrict Chinese citizens and businesses from buying U.S. farmland as “purely a move of political manipulation on the pretext of national security.”
“The U.S. farmland held by Chinese investors accounts for less than 0.03 percent of the total. How can it pose a threat to U.S. food security as some have claimed?” Xie asked.
The accusation is completely unfounded and is aimed at hijacking China-U.S. agricultural cooperation for a few individuals’ own agenda, he added.
Citing data, Xie said U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped 53 percent year-over-year in the first half of this year, and the number for soybeans dropped 51 percent compared with last year in the same period.
“The rising protectionism has undoubtedly cast a shadow over our agricultural cooperation,” he said.
Addressing the broader economic and trade ties between the two countries, the ambassador said China is ready to work with the U.S. side to make good use of the economic and trade consultation mechanism, build consensus, clear up misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation so as to jointly share the dividends of development and return to the right track of win-win cooperation.
