Speaking in an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, April 23 China’s permanent representative Fu Cong questioned the unilateralism pursued by the US in international trade claiming it “severely infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries” and violates the rule based multilateral trading system.
Cong claimed a multilateral approach remains the only option for the advancement of all countries and affirmed “no country has the right to put itself above international law” and dictate terms to others. He offered Chinese cooperation in dealing with the situation to the countries which are willing to stand for free and fair international trade.
China’s reaction was a response to the “tariff war” unleashed by US President Donald Trump ever since he began his second term in January this year. Under the so-called reciprocal tariff regime, the US announced high tariffs against imports from most of the countries in the world.
The implementation of the “reciprocal tariffs” has been postponed for 90 days for all countries except China, whose exports to the US currently face a 145% tariff. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has offered bilateral negotiations to reach agreements with the countries that want to avoid the announced reciprocal tariffs.
In response to the steep tariff against its goods, China announced a 125% tariff on imports from the US. It also vowed to fight Trump’s strong arming tactics and has so far refused to sign a bilateral agreement. It has also called the arbitrary tariff hikes a violation of international trade laws and demanded the reversal of the policy.
Amid the flurry, China has proposed that countries make a coordinated response to Trump’s tariff war, citing that individual agreements may harm global trade.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an and the Governor of China’s Central Bank (the People’s Bank of China) Pan Gongsheng reiterated their country’s position during the G20 finance minister’s meeting in Washington DC which concluded on Thursday, April 24.
Claiming that trade tensions, created by Trump’s arbitrary policies, “are disrupting global industrial and supply chains, undermining the momentum of global economic growth,” Pan claimed trade and tariff wars have no winners. He pushed for greater economic and financial coordination. Lan called for strengthening multilateral cooperation to face the difficult times ahead, Global Times reported on Friday.
No appeasing the bully
China said earlier this week that to “safeguard legitimate rights and interests” and to “defend fairness and justice” in international trade all the affected countries should coordinate their moves warning that dealing with it individually may lead to compromises harming the global trade as a whole.
The coordination of their moves is the way to deal with the “hegemonic politics” and “unilateral bullying” adopted by the US which attempts to deprive opportunities for development to a large number of countries across the globe, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Commerce said during a press conference on Monday.
Since Trump announced the reciprocal tariffs and their postponement, there has been a rush of affected countries seeking bilateral deals with the US as a way to avoid the high tariffs. Some of them are close neighbors of China such as Japan and South Korea. China cautioned these countries against the temptations to appease Trump’s hegemonic moves in their haste. It particularly warned against “selfish” compromises with the US which can harm third countries.
Various media reports have indicated that the Trump administration is pressuring countries seeking bilateral agreements with the US to reduce their trade ties with China and impose barriers.
China maintained that it respects every country’s right to safeguard its interests and negotiate deals with the US. However, it warned that such deals should not come at its own cost. It warned that if China’s interests are harmed, it can take reciprocal measures as “it is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests.”
“Sacrificing others’ interests to obtain so-called exemptions for temporary selfish gains is akin to negotiating with a tiger; it ultimately leads to failure for both the parties and harms everyone involved,” the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said.
“Appeasement cannot bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect,” China warned, claiming that, “If international trade reverts to the ‘law of jungle’, all countries will become victims.”
China said it expects all countries to stand “on the side of fairness and justice, on the side of historical correctness” as no one is immune to “unilateralism and protectionism.”
