Trade war - China's will to defend its interests is strong

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.