commerce minister

China could report a trade deficit in March, the country's commerce minister said Sunday as he rejected U.S. pressure to ease currency controls and blamed Washington for the Sino-U.S. trade gap.

China's commerce minister warned the United States on Sunday against imposing trade sanctions over Beijing's currency controls, and said his country was likely to report a trade deficit in March.

China is offering to abolish import duties on some commodities from Africa and make sure Chinese exports to the continent are safe as part of a package to boost already thriving economic ties, China's commerce minister said in an article published Saturday.