EU trying to deflect US' trade attack onto China will only worsen its plight: China Daily editorial

Among all the officials of US allies and partners that have tried to point a diverting finger at China as the target for US tariffs, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is undoubtedly the most incorrigible.

China is "laughing", Kallas told the media during a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Canada last week. "It's really benefiting from the US having a trade war with Europe."

She made the remarks as the European Union imposed 50 percent tariffs on US whiskey in retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including those from the EU.

This represents at least the third time Kallas has made such a comment since the US presidential election in November, even before taking office as EU foreign policy chief.

But she's wrong.

Trade wars have no winners. A trade war between such major economies as the United States and the EU will impact the stability of the global industry and supply chains sending shock waves around the world economy.

Both the US and the EU are important trading partners of China, and their trade war will inevitably harm China as it will aggravate the headwinds in its external environment.

Kallas' seeming belief that if the US buys her view, it will ease up on its tariff attack on the EU is nothing but wishful thinking.

In fact, turning a deaf ear to her appeal, the US administration threatened a 200 percent tariff on EU-imported alcohol such as champagne and wine in response to the EU's 50 percent tariffs on US whiskey. And the US president is standing firm on his threat, telling reporters on Thursday that he will not reconsider upcoming tariffs that will take effect on April 2. He called on the EU to drop its tariffs on US whiskey or face reciprocal tariffs.

The EU's top diplomat should realize that what the US leader cares about is the EU's tens of billions of dollars of trade surplus against the US, which China has no influence on.

The only "rationality" behind her painstaking peddling of that distorted view on China originates from the Cold War mentality ingrained in her mind, and the minds of some other EU politicians, which the previous US administration took advantage of to try and form a "united front" with the EU against China.

Defending the US' tariff war, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the media on Sunday that "This is global. It's not against Canada … it's not against Mexico, it's not against the EU, it's everybody", adding that once there was a baseline level of fairness and reciprocity, then the US would engage in negotiations about new trade agreements.

In her meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich last month, Kallas had said the EU highly values its relations with China, and expressed the EU's readiness to cooperate with China in upholding multilateralism and safeguarding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

To that end, Kallas should stop making irresponsible remarks on China, and match her words with deeds.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations. Over the past five decades, China-EU cooperation has come a long way. Bilateral trade has expanded from $2.4 billion to $780 billion. Investment has increased from almost zero to close to $260 billion.

The two sides should take this as an opportunity to review the experiences of their successful cooperation, reaffirm their strategic partnership, uphold dialogue and cooperation as the guiding principles, stick to the fundamental tone of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and remain strategic partners based on mutual respect, trust and long-term stability.

How the US and the EU get along is up to them, as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. But it is not going to help the EU get along with China if it tries to deflect its trade tensions with the US onto it.

Kallas should bear in mind that China as a friend in a time of need is a true friend indeed.