China is the wrong target for sanctions related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear issue, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said in Washington Friday.
"Both China and the United States benefit from bilateral trade, so efforts to undermine Sino-U.S. trade, or even slapping sanctions on China, I think would be off-target," Cui said at a Chinese National Day reception.
"If someone were to pressure China or impose sanctions on China over the DPRK, it would not be supported by many U.S. citizens," Cui said.
"Workers at U.S. airplane factories, farmers growing soybeans, companies that sell smartphones to China, manufacturers that enjoy large market shares in China, companies in the service sector that have gained trade surplus in China, U.S. states that engage in robust trade with China would all stand against it," Cui said.
Cui's remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted earlier this month that the United States is considering "stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea."
Cui said that despite differences between China and the United States, he is confident about the future of bilateral relations.
The two sides are currently in close contact over Trump's upcoming state visit to China, as well as a series of high-level dialogues on issues including cyber security and humanistic exchanges that were initiated earlier this year.
"The dialogues would be beneficial to Sino-U.S. relationship in the long run," Cui said.
