BEIJING — The U.S. will not send a high-ranking official to attend a major investment fair in China next month, an embassy official said Wednesday, in a move underscoring worsening trade friction between the world’s two largest economies.
Speaking on routine condition of anonymity, the official said, “China needs to make the necessary reforms to end its unfair practices that are harming the world economy.”
“The U.S. government has no current plans for high-level U.S. government participation” in the expo, the official said. “We encourage China to level the playing the field for U.S. goods and services.”
State media reported that the first-ever China International Import Expo scheduled for Nov. 5-10 in the financial hub of Shanghai has attracted more than 2,800 companies from 130 nations.
The fair aims to advertise China’s importance as a market for foreign goods and recent moves to encourage trade and investment amid accusations that it discriminates against foreign companies and unfairly demands they hand over crucial technology.
The event comes as the U.S. has raised tariffs to up to 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods with the possibility of more such measures to come.  (AP)