Next week, the United States is set to impose tariffs on $34-billion worth of Chinese imports.
And Beijing said it will reciprocate with matching tariffs on American goods. The U.S. state of Alaska is watching the escalating trade dispute closely.
Last year alone, China purchased more than one-point-three billion dollars of goods, primarily seafood, from the state. Alaska officials say their natural resources, such as liquefied natural gas, could contribute to narrowing the U.S. trade gap with China.
Alaskan Governor Bill Walker discusses the current state of U.S.-China trade relations.
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis is in China for his first official visit, after criticizing Beijing for the militarization of islands in the South China Sea. Mattis told reporters he’s ready to listen and plans to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the role China can play.
To discuss all of this:
- Qinduo Xu is a senior researcher with the Pangoal Institution.
- Christopher Yung is the Donald Bren Chair of Non-Western Strategic Thought and director of East Asian Studies at the Marine Corps University.
- Lester Munson is vice president with BGR Group, a strategic consulting firm.
For more:
Alaska is one of the most resource rich places on Earth. We ship almost $1 billion in seafood to China – we can triple that. Gasline project = $10 billion every year. Add minerals, and Alaska will lead the way in reducing our trade imbalance with China. https://t.co/D6MGwG3j79
— Governor Bill Walker (@AkGovBillWalker) May 29, 2018
Jim Mattis arrived Tuesday in Beijing on the first China visit by a U.S. defense secretary in four years https://t.co/7QihSXFVxx
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) June 26, 2018