For China, Trade War’s Biggest Casualty Will Be Confidence: Ex-PBOC Chief

Uncertainty and a loss of confidence among investors are the main risks to China from the trade dispute with the U.S, while the impact of tariffs themselves will be “not very serious” for the Chinese economy, Zhou Xiaochuan, the former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said.

“The negative impact of the trade war itself on the economy would not be significant,” Zhou said in an interview with American business-news television network CNBC on Friday in Italy, where he is attending a conference. Mathematical modeling conducted for the government to calculate the impact of the trade war showed it would have “less than half a percent impact” on the Chinese economy, Zhou said.