Reuters
BEIJING — Apple Inc. AAPL, -2.32% Chief Executive Tim Cook called on President Donald Trump to support free-trade policies as planned tariffs raise tensions between the U.S. and China.
“Countries that embrace openness, that embrace trade, that embrace diversity are the countries that do exceptionally,” Cook said during a panel discussion at an economic forum here Saturday, when asked what message he would like to bring home to Trump. “And the countries that don’t, don’t,” he added, he added, without mentioning the president by name.
Larry Fink, chief executive of investment firm BlackRock Inc. BLK, -3.39% , who also attended the China Development Forum, said the U.S. and China shouldn’t fight a trade war. “The world needs a strong China and a strong U.S. The world does not need a public fight in which we reduce mutual opportunities,” he said.
The comments from Messrs. Cook and Fink came after the U.S. this week proposed tariffs on as much as $60 billion of Chinese products and tighter restrictions on acquisitions and technology transfers.
Opinion: Who gets hurt in a trade war? Mostly not China
U.S. tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products took effect Friday.
Read: Here’s all the stuff the U.S. imports from China that’s causing a huge trade deficit
An expanded version of this story can be found at WSJ.com
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