On August 24th the USA announced that it
would raise tariffs on some $550 billion of Chinese imports. A spokesman for
the ministry of commerce said China was firmly opposed to the move. Such
unilateral and bullying trade protectionism and extreme pressure actions run
counter to the consensus reached by the heads of state of China and the United
States, violate the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit,
and seriously undermine the multilateral trading system and normal
international trade order. China strongly urges the USA not to misjudge the
situation, underestimate the determination of the Chinese people and
immediately stop its wrong practices, or the USA will bear all the consequences.
(see page 04 for related report)
A sharp fall in the USA stock market was
imminent, but the scale and intensity of the trade friction were again
escalated, regardless of the consequences. The dow jones industrial average
plunged more than 600 points on Wednesday as all three major U.S. stock indexes
suffered heavy losses due to trade frictions between China and the United
States. Earlier, the USA government announced a 10 percent tariff on us $300bn
worth of imports from China. U.S. stocks plunged Tuesday after China announced
a trade response and the U.S. federal reserve's decision to cut interest rates.
After the American stock market crash, some people in the United States are
still irrationally and immoderately brandishing the tariff stick again, which
shows that the interests of the American people have been regarded as nothing
by some politicians.
The USA side has repeatedly raised tariffs
on its imports from China. This time, it brazenly announced that it will raise
tariffs on all us $550 billion of Chinese imports to the USA. This action
violates WTO rules and runs counter to the consensus reached by the two heads
of state at the meeting in Argentina and the meeting in Osaka, and seriously
infringes upon China's legitimate rights and interests. The further some in the
United States go down the slippery slope of bullying for profit, the stronger
the backlash will be.
China's will to safeguard its core national
interests and the fundamental interests of its people is indestructible. Since
may this year, the USA has been escalating trade frictions with China. First, it
announced that it would raise the tariff rate on us $200 billion worth of
imports from China from 10% to 25%. China recently decided to impose tariffs on
about $75 billion of imports from the United States and resume tariffs on cars
and plastic parts from the United States. China's countermeasures are precise and
effective. They are a response to the USA's unilateralism and trade
protectionism, and a strong counterattack to safeguard the interests of the
country and its people.
Cooperation is the only correct choice to
solve the economic and trade issues between China and the United States. This
time, the United States has once again escalated economic and trade frictions
and carried out "extreme pressure" in a desperate manner. China
strongly opposes us trade bullying and will never make concessions on major
issues of principle. For more than a year, the USA's strategic intention to stir
up frictions aimed at curbing China's development has been exposed. The
so-called "charges" of trade imbalance, forced technology transfer,
theft of intellectual property rights and currency manipulation are all the means
and excuses used by some us politicians to suppress China. Development is the
theme of human civilization. China's development benefits the world. China will
never settle differences at the expense of its right to development. In the
face of unilateral provocation and escalation of economic and trade frictions
by some in the USA China has the ability to resolutely stand by them to the
end.
Any extreme pressure is of no use to China.
In the face of blackmail by some us politicians, China has the confidence and
confidence to resolutely fight back. In the face of complex and severe domestic
and international situations, the Chinese economy has got off to a good start
this year, with major indicators remaining within a reasonable range. Domestic
demand and consumption are growing strongly, innovation is growing rapidly, and
macro-control measures are sufficient. All these favorable conditions will
ensure that the Chinese economy will continue to forge ahead in spite of wind
and rain.
No one wins in a trade war. While
countering trade bullying, China will also take into account both domestic and
external factors, actively expand opening-up, reduce tariffs on its own
initiative, increase imports from other countries, and minimize the impact on
China's domestic production and people's living needs. China hopes to build a
balanced, inclusive and win-win new economic and trade order between China and
the United States. At the same time, China's will to defend its own interests
is unshakable. To develop a resilient Chinese economy, we will resolutely
uphold and improve the multilateral trading system and work together for mutual
benefit and win-win results.
