Chinese residents and business owners are reacting to an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. Some see the rising tensions as damaging to the relationship between the two countries and think Beijing should take a stronger stance against Washington, but not all business owners share the concern, saying they had been preparing for the turmoil since before U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
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00:00Tensions are rising between China and the United States
00:05after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on all Chinese imports.
00:12And China hit back with its own retaliatory tariffs.
00:15Residents and business owners in China are reacting.
00:20Some view the tariffs as a blow to U.S.-China relations,
00:23saying there's no doubt it will impact both sides,
00:26and stressing the need for a tougher response from the Chinese government.
00:29I think it's only right for you to restrict me.
00:34You should be tougher.
00:35China is a big country.
00:38We can't just let it bully us.
00:41China has been collecting tariffs.
00:43We have to speak up.
00:47Last week, the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports.
00:52China hit back with a 15% border tax on imports of U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas,
00:57as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil and agricultural machinery.
01:03Those most affected in China could include electronics firms,
01:06which may find it harder to export into the U.S.,
01:09as well as some other sectors.
01:10If we look at some of the sectors with a large U.S. exposure,
01:16it could be sectors like home appliances and toys,
01:19basically some of the basic goods that China exports to the U.S.
01:24They may actually find it quite difficult because the profit margin is already quite low,
01:29and then these goods are generally more replaceable from the production from other countries.
01:36Yet many traders and export manufacturing hub Yiwu appear less concerned.
01:41Though around 80% of this toy company's exports go to the U.S.,
01:44its owner says even a 50% tariff would not have much of an impact.
01:54Another business owner says his company had repaired itself before Trump took office.
02:24With tariffs imposed by the world's two largest economies only just beginning to take effect,
02:46it'll take time until it's clear who is affected and how.
02:50Dolphine Chen and Keynes Cuaranta for Taiwan Plus.
02:54For more UN videos visit www.un.org