China on Thursday criticized Washington’s decision to leave the UN treaty that regulates international postage, amid a trade dispute between the world’s top two economies.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the move should not be linked to China, despite arguments that the arrangement especially benefits Chinese manufacturers by making it cheaper to ship packages from Beijing to New York than from one side of the US to the other, AP reported.
“We regret the US decision to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union,” Lu said. President Donald Trump has said the 144-year-old UPU puts US businesses at a disadvantage and is used by shippers of the narcotic fentanyl to the US from China. Washington earlier imposed tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing has retaliated by targeting $110 billion in US products.