Spokesperson's Remarks｜China takes U.S.'s tariffs seriously, calling them hegemonic move in name of "reciprocity"

The U.S. hegemonic move in the name of "reciprocity" serves its selfish interests at the expense of other countries' legitimate interests and puts "America first" over international rules, and this is a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday, noting that China has issued the Chinese Government's Position on Opposing U.S. Abuse of Tariffs to express the serious and just attitude.

Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson/MFA PRC

Lin made the remarks at a press conference on Monday when asked to comment the impact of U.S. tariffs on over 180 countries and regions in the world, including some vulnerable economies designated as the least developed countries by the UN. Comments say that the high tariffs will deal an unprecedented heavy blow to poor countries that have simple economic structure and are highly reliant on export. Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric warned that the trade war will adversely affect implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, and the concern right now is with the most vulnerable countries, which are the least equipped to deal with the current situation. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that the U.S. tariffs could lead to an overall contraction of around 1 percent in global merchandise trade volumes this year and will have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects.

Lin noted that the U.S. abuse of tariffs deprives countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development. Analysis of WTO data shows that in light of the uneven economic development and strengths, the U.S. tariff hikes will further widen the wealth gap among countries and less developed countries will feel a heavier blow. This gravely hurts the effort for realizing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The U.S. tariffs with differentiated rates violate the WTO principle of non-discrimination, severely disrupt the international trade order and the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, severely undermine the multilateral trading system, severely hinder global economic recovery, and will certainly be rejected by the international community.

Lin emphasized that open cooperation represents the trend of history and mutual benefit is what the people want. Development is a universal right of all countries, not an exclusive privilege of a few. Countries need to uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit, remain committed to true multilateralism, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism of all forms, safeguard the international order with the UN at its core, and uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its center. (By Ma Ziqian/China Youth Daily)