'We are not in a trade war with China,' says Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump denied on Wednesday that the United States was in a trade war with China, hours after Beijing slapped tariffs on a list of US imports in retaliation for similar duties levied by the White House one day earlier.

"We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the US," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 4, 2018

Hours earlier, the US government had unveiled a detailed breakdown of some 1,300 Chinese industrial, transport and medical goods that could be subject to 25 percent duties, ranging from light-emitting diodes to machine parts.

The US move, broadly flagged last month, is aimed at forcing Beijing to address what Washington says is deeply entrenched theft of US intellectual property and forced technology transfer from US companies to Chinese competitors, charges Chinese officials deny.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had shown sincerity in wanting to resolve the dispute through negotiations.
"But the best opportunities for resolving the issues through dialogue and negotiations have been repeatedly missed by the US. side," he told a regular briefing on Wednesday.

The tariff list from the office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer followed China's imposition of tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. fruits, nuts, pork and wine to protest new US steel and aluminium tariffs imposed last month by Trump.

Publication of Washington's list starts a public comment and consultation period expected to last around two months.