Trade War Could Cost China At Least 700,000 Jobs, JPMorgan Economist Says

China unlikely to resolve trade differences with the U.S. this year, and a prolonged trade dispute could cost China at least 700,000 jobs and hasten the move of factories overseas.

Zhu Haibin, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief China economist, made the prediction at an event hosted by JPMorgan at its Beijing office on Monday.

The trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies is widely expected to further worsen this year, and is unlikely to be affected by the U.S.’ midterm elections in November due to a fundamental shift of the country’s long-term strategy toward China and the different economic cycles the two countries are experiencing, Zhu said.