- US actions ignore that it has benefitted from intl trade, says China.
- China slams US move severely violating World Trade Organisation rules.
- China to open its doors wider to world no matter how intl situation changes.
The Chinese government has strongly condemned and firmly opposed tariffs imposed by Donald Trump’s administration, saying that the actions taken by the United States violate fundamental economic principles and market norms and disregard the balanced outcomes achieved through multilateral trade negotiations, Xinhua reported.
The statement by the Chinese government said that these actions ignore the fact that the US has long benefited substantially from international trade.
Using tariffs as a tool of extreme pressure for selfish gain is a textbook example of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying, it added.
The US, under various pretexts, has recently imposed tariffs on all trading partners, including China, which severely infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of nations.
The move severely violates World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, severely harms the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely disrupts the stability of the global economic order.
Moreover, the government’s statement said that under the guise of pursuing “reciprocity” and “fairness,” the United States is engaging in zero-sum games and, in essence, seeking “America First” and “American exceptionalism”.
It said that the US is exploiting tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order, prioritising US interests above the global common good and sacrificing the legitimate interests of countries worldwide to serve its own hegemonic agenda.
“Such actions will inevitably face widespread opposition from the international community,” it noted.
It was also stressed by the statement that as the world’s second-largest economy and second-largest consumer market for goods, China will open its doors wider to the outside world no matter how the international situation changes.
Economic globalization is the only way forward for the development of human society. The rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core has made important contributions to promoting global trade, economic growth and sustainable development, the statement noted.
“It is the shared responsibility of the international community to make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, universally beneficial and balanced,” it said.
There are no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and protectionism leads to a dead end, it stressed, adding that all countries should uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, uphold genuine multilateralism, work together to oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
The statement highlighted the belief that the vast majority of countries that value fairness and justice will stand on the right side of history, making decisions that serve their own interests. The world must embrace equity, not hegemony.
