US' protectionism, isolationism and unilateralism will not bring it benefit: China Daily editorial

China remains consistent in both its openness to promote healthy development of Sino-US relations, and its resoluteness to safeguard its core interests.

The series of trade-related moves targeting the United States that Beijing made public on Tuesday are countermeasures against the 10 percent additional tariffs the US levied on all imports from China on the same day on the pretext that Beijing is not doing enough to help address the US' fentanyl crisis.

The carefully-selected list of US imports these Chinese measures target, and the mineral resources that it has strengthened its export controls on, are tailored to avoid hurting the overall Sino-US economic relations. And its filing a case against the US tariff measures under the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanism on the basis that the US move is of a "malicious nature" demonstrates Beijing's resolve to protect the country's interests.

Starting from Feb 10, China will impose a 15 percent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas originating from the US, and a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks originating from the US, the State Council's tariff commission said in a statement issued on Tuesday. The Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced on the same day that China will implement export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, which is expected to impact the US' military industry most.

The Ministry of Commerce also had every reason to include the PVH Group and Illumina in the unreliable entity list that day, since there is plenty of evidence that proves they violated normal market trading principles, interrupted normal transactions with Chinese companies, took discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises, and seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese entities. Also on Tuesday, the State Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into Google for suspected antitrust violations. A move believed to be associated with the US' attacks on TikTok and DeepSeek.

In a statement the White House issued on Saturday on the Trump administration's additional tariffs on imports from China — as well as those on imports from Canada and Mexico, which the US delayed on Monday — the Trump administration said "Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest."

Which is not true. And it is reaping what it has sown based on that fallacy.

While the US administration claims it is protecting domestic industries and safeguarding jobs with such protectionist measures, the reality is that the tariffs and trade barriers will only harm its own consumers and businesses and escalate tensions with the US' major trading partners. The US' practice seriously damages the rules-based multilateral trading system and disrupts the stability of the global industry and supply chains, whose repercussions will ripple across the whole global economic system affecting other major economies.

China is a firm supporter and important contributor to the multilateral trading system. It is willing to work with other WTO members to jointly respond to the challenges of unilateralism and protectionism to the multilateral trading system and maintain the orderly and stable development of international trade.

At the heart of any trade war lies a fundamental misconception — the belief that one party can emerge victorious at the expense of the other. The truth is — as history shows — in a trade war there is no winner. Everyone loses. The US' trade deficit against other countries doesn't mean it is being "exploited", it is a result of normal trade. The US enjoys a long-term "trade surplus", in various forms, with the rest of the world explaining its economic strengths since early last century.

China firmly opposes the US' regressive and shortsighted approach to trade relations. But considering that there will be about six days before China's newly announced countermeasures take effect, the two sides still have time to negotiate a way out to avoid a reckless escalation of the trade war.