Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen speaks during a news conference about China-U.S. Trade issues at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Sunday. (Andy Wong/AP)A top Chinese trade negotiator defended a new Chinese investigation into FedEx, the Memphis-based courier, as “understandable” as he reiterated vague warnings that China would punish those who hurt Chinese companies for political reasons. FedEx said there was no “external pressure” to misroute the packages amid speculation it was related to new U.S. sanctions against the beleaguered Chinese tech giant. The courier said in a statement the incident was a mistake and agreed to cooperate with the Chinese probe. He said “everybody doesn’t need to worry” about facing retaliatory Chinese action “if they respect Chinese laws.”“The entities list targets those who violate market principles and cut off business for noncommercial reasons to hurt Chinese companies and Chinese national security,” said Wang.

Source: Washington Post June 02, 2019 04:52 UTC