Tariff coercion won't work against China which will fight US bullying to the end: China Daily editorial

"America First" is essentially nothing more than the United States trying to make the "World Coerced". As such, it is "America Cursed". A country cursed by its own megalomania and cursed by other countries for its callous malice.

And having made itself a curse to all the other nations on Earth with its calculated tariff extortion, the US can hardly bleat about a country not doing what is expected when cursed in return.

Yet that is what the US president has done by slapping an additional 50 percent tariff on China for having the gall to stand up to his administration's intended tariff torture.

China's countermeasures are not a confrontational response, but a necessary response to the US' despotic trade policy. The US has repeatedly sought to cower China into submission with its tariff blows. But China has stood firm, responding equally forcefully while calling for restraint and talks.

Behind this calm and composed approach lies China's firm understanding of its own path to modernization. No matter how much pressure the US applies, whether it be punitive 54 percent tariffs or 104 percent, or more, China will give as good as it gets, while remaining steadfast in pursuing its own development and leaving the door open for talks.

In doing so, China is standing up to the intimidation of the US and upholding fairness and justice in global affairs. Its desire to realize a community with a shared future for mankind is not an idle imagining but a practical pursuit that is in the interests of the world. Just as no one can turn back the rising tide, no one can stop China's development, or the collective rise of the Global South.

The US president's latest tariff threat against China is further proof that the latter's prompt, justified and resolute retaliatory measures against his so-called reciprocal tariffs have caught his trade policymaking circle by surprise.

But bullies never expect their intended victims to stand up to them.

To some extent the US leader's latest threats toward China are part of his tactics to divert domestic attention and ease the domestic pressure on his administration, as he has largely kept silent on the dramatic market volatility and nationwide protests.

He has said that "negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place", while claiming to have turned his back on China. A country that has done nothing wrong, as it has only sought to protect its own legitimate rights and interests by giving the US a taste of its own "medicine".

China has repeatedly stressed that pressure or threats are not the right way to resolve trade disputes. As the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday, trade wars only aggravate them. If the US side is really willing to act in good faith to settle what it sees as an "unfair" trade imbalance with China, it should engage in talks and consultations with China on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

If not, China will continue to take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests. It is anticipated that Beijing will announce countermeasures if the US goes ahead with its latest additional 50 percent tariff threat — including, according to some in the know, substantial tariffs on US agricultural products such as soybeans and sorghum; a ban on US poultry exports to China because of the serious bird flu epidemic in the US; and suspending its fentanyl cooperation with the US, as the latter has completely discounted the assistance China has provided. Other mooted measures include restricting US companies from participating in procurement and restricting business cooperation such as legal consulting, where the US has a long-term trade surplus in services with China; banning the import of US films; and investigating the benefits gained by US companies from intellectual property rights in China, as related US companies have obtained huge monopoly benefits in the Chinese market.

These should leave the US administration no room for doubt that China will stand firm in countering the US' extortionist tariff attacks. Just as the Commerce Ministry said, "If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end."

China does not provoke trouble, but nor is it daunted by it. It has emerged stronger from many a storm.