China has unexpectedly appointed a new trade envoy as officials say US "tariff barriers and trade threats" are having a serious impact on the global economic order.
In a statement released by Beijing's Ministry of Human Resources on its website, Li Chenggang will play the role of Representative for International Trade Negotiations and Deputy Minister of Commerce . Before this, he was the former assistant minister of commerce of China and the ambassador of the World Trade Organization.
Li, who holds a law degree from Peking University in China and the University of Hamburg in Germany, has been selected as Wang Souwen's successor. Wang participated in the 2020 trade agreement talks between China and the US.
Li has been chosen to lead trade talks as Beijing refuses to back down in an escalating trade war with Washington over heavy tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by US President Donald Trump.
China is bracing for the impact on exports, its main source of revenue, for the challenges it faces in an already sluggish economy . Beijing announced on Wednesday that its GDP grew by 5.4 percent in the January-March period from a year earlier.
This figure itself is more than expected . But it reflects the period before US tariffs were raised from 10 percent to 145 percent. Chinese officials have warned that the latest decision of the US President Trump administration will cause economic pain in the coming days.
Both Washington and Beijing have said they are open to talks, but have yet to take any steps to do so. Now, if there is a negotiation, 58-year-old Lee will play a leading role . He previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and has held several key positions in the Ministry of Commerce .
