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U.S.
President Donald Trump had campaigned on a promise to confront
China more aggressively on trade, including by levying new
tariffs on goods from abroad and branding China a currency
manipulator.
Beijing says it will work with Washington to resolve any trade
disputes, but Chinese state media has warned of retaliation if
Trump takes the first steps towards a trade war.
"The new American administration has threatened to launch a
trade war, but in my view, they will suffer more from the war,"
Wahaha Chairman Zong Qinghou told reporters on the sidelines of
China's annual parliament meeting on Tuesday.
"People will grumble about the (U.S.) government as domestic
prices rise."
Zong, one of China's richest men, also predicted that the U.S.
trade deficit with China would persist as long as Washington
maintained "stupid" restrictions on high-tech exports to China.
The politically sensitive U.S.-China trade deficit stood at $347
billion last year.
China has long asked Washington to loosen its restrictions on
exports of sensitive technology, arguing that it could cut its
trade deficit by selling more of what China needs.
But the strict U.S. export controls against China on a range of
products with both military and civilian uses, such as some
computer processors and software, were implemented as a national
security measure.
"Western countries, especially the United States, sometimes are
stupid, as they ban companies from selling advanced technology
products in China," said Zong, who is also a member of
parliament.
"Only by exporting the products to a broader market can the U.S.
cover the investment in the research and development stage."
Zong was listed as mainland China's fifth-richest person, worth
112 billion yuan ($16.24 billion), according to the 2017 Hurun
Report, which tracks global wealth.
Wahaha, which means laughing baby in Mandarin, exports bottled
beverage, drinking water, and its hit product, mixed congee, to
the United States.
(By Lusha Zhang and Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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