Trump trade war: May and China fire warning shots

China’s annual parliament gathering kicks off today as Xi presses ahead with efforts to ward off financial risks without undermining the economy.

Despite China’s economic successes, there are still millions in the country who want more political freedom.

The NPC, which has 2,980 deputies is expected ratify the constitutional amendments removing the term limit which would enable Xi to continue to head China possibly for life.

Xi was speaking at a joint panel discussion on Sunday with “political advisors” from the China Democratic League and the China Zhi Gong Party, those without party affiliation and those from the sector of returned overseas Chinese, at the first session of the advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Xinhua report said. Zhang said repealing term limits was necessary to preserve unified leadership, since Xi’s other two titles – party leader and military chief – don’t face similar restrictions. The comment signaled that he is unlikely to back down from last week’s proposals for slapping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Leaders have been putting more emphasis on economic stability instead of rapid growth. But it assumes the Chinese leader is willing to oversee such a sustained and painful economic transition.

“I’m telling you, it’s a rigged system folks”, Trump said of the fact that his actions during the 2016 election campaign were still under scrutiny, while his opponent Hillary Clinton’s were not.

UK Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington told the BBC: “The United States is not taking an advisable course in threatening a trade war”.

Trump’s surprise announcement on Thursday that the USA will institute tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has upset stock markets, angered U.S. allies around the world and even drawn criticism from members of his own party – but whether it represents the start of a global trade war is likely to depend on China’s reaction. If passed, the amendment would allow President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely.

The CCP must also respond to social tensions brewing within the country.

Zhang did not say how much of a percentage increase China might see this year in its defense spending, but he stressed that the country’s military does not threaten anyone.

Instead, the government could “effectively erase them by narrowly interpreting the relevant provisions”.

China’s Communist Party has long claimed sovereignty over the self-governing island of Taiwan — and a degree of authority over all ethnic Chinese, regardless of nationality — but its attitude toward the Chinese diaspora has been a source of growing friction with foreign governments over the past year. This is summed up in an In response, state media has denied the move necessarily means a lifetime power for Xi.

But Li Datong, the former editor of the state-owned China Youth Daily newspaper scoffed at the idea.

“If they really respected the constitution, they wouldn’t act so arbitrarily”.