China states its position on opposing US abuse of tariffs

BEIJING -- The Chinese government's position on opposing US abuse of tariffs was released on Saturday.

Recently, under various pretexts, the United States has imposed tariffs on all trading partners, including China, which severely infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of nations, severely violates World Trade Organization rules, severely harms the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely disrupts the stability of the global economic order. The Chinese government strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.

According to a statement on the Chinese government's position, the actions taken by the United States violate fundamental economic principles and market norms, disregard the balanced outcomes achieved through multilateral trade negotiations, and ignore the fact that the United States 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.

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," the statement said.

It said that the United States is exploiting tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order, prioritizing 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.

China is an ancient civilization and a land of ritual. The Chinese people advocate treating others with sincerity and trust.

"We don't make trouble, but we have no fear of trouble," the statement said, stressing that pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China. China has taken and will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.

Noting that China-US economic and trade relations should be mutually beneficial in nature, the statement said the United States should conform to the common expectations of the people in the two countries and around the world. In line with the need to safeguard the fundamental interests of the two countries, the United States should stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China's trade and economy, and stop undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people.

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, the statement stressed.

It said China will continue to open up to the world at a high level, steadily expand its institutional opening-up in rules, regulations, management and standards, implement high-level trade and investment liberalization and facilitation policies, and foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized first-class business environment, to share its development opportunities with the world, and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.

Economic globalization is the only way forward for the development of human society. The rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core has made important contributions to promoting global trade, economic growth and sustainable development, the statement noted.

"As openness and cooperation is the trend of history, the world will not and should not retreat to mutual isolation and division," the statement said. Mutual benefits and win-win outcomes reflect the common aspirations of all people, while beggar-thy-neighbor economic bullying will ultimately backfire.

"It is the shared responsibility of the international community to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, universally beneficial and balanced," it said.

Development is a universal right for all countries, not the exclusive privilege of a few. International affairs should be discussed and handled collectively, and the future and destiny of the world should be in the hands of all nations, the statement said.

There are no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and protectionism leads to a dead end, it stressed. And 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.