Trump's trade war with China has cost up to 245,000 U.S. jobs: study

A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China has caused a peak loss of 245,000 U.S. jobs, but a gradual scaling back of tariffs on both sides would boost growth and lead to an additional 145,000 jobs by 2025, a study commissioned by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) showed.

This report fully demonstrates that the essence of Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian commented on Friday.

"The Trump administration's launch of a trade war against China will not solve the United States' own problems. It will only harm others and itself," he said, adding that China hopes that the U.S. will listen carefully to rational domestic voices, work with China in creating a favorable atmosphere for the healthy development of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation.

USCBC represents major American companies doing business in China. It said the study by Oxford Economics also includes an "escalation scenario" which estimates a significant decoupling of the world's two largest economies could shrink U.S. GDP by $1.6 trillion over the next five years. This could result in 732,000 fewer U.S. jobs in 2022 and 320,000 fewer jobs by 2025, it said.

USCBC President Craig Allen said it was important that the group articulate the consequences of policy choices in the U.S.-China relationship.

"In the case of the tariffs, it's very important that we understand the full economic cost of these choices," Allen told a press briefing.

The study estimates that U.S. exports to China support 1.2 million American jobs and that Chinese multinational companies directly employ 197,000 Americans, while U.S. companies invested $105 billion in China in 2019.

"With China forecast to drive around one-third of global growth over the next decade, maintaining market access to China is increasingly essential for U.S. businesses' global success," the study said.

(With input from Reuters)