The head of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in his first public comments on the escalation of the trade war with the United States, said that his country was not afraid.
The mentioned statement was made before Beijing raised tariffs on goods imported from the US to 125%. This action by the Asian country means the continued growth of tensions in the international trade space and the global economy as a whole. So far, China has demonstrated unequivocal readiness to escalate the confrontation with the United States, confirming its position in the practical plane by imposing countermeasures. In this case, Beijing follows the principle of a tit-for-tat.
Another round of escalating tensions between China and the United States was recorded after US President Donald Trump decided to raise tariffs on products imported from the Asian country to 145%. Beijing quickly responded to this decision. China has raised tariffs on US goods shipped to the Asian country to 125%. At the same time, China stated that it had no intention to engage in further escalation. According to media reports, Beijing has no desire to increase tariffs above 125%. Commenting on the countermeasures against the United States, the Asian country stated that it would be meaningless to engage in further escalation.
Separately, it should be noted that the confrontation between the US and China is a negative sensitive factor for both sides of this process. In this case, the United States is highly likely to face price increases, which are probably not to be moderate and will become a serious challenge for the country. China’s main vulnerability in the framework of the mentioned confrontation lies in the fact that its economy, which has recently been experiencing a lack of growth momentum, relies heavily on exports.
The Asian country’s commerce ministry statement, which was published on Friday, April 11, noted that the successive imposition of excessively high tariffs on China by the US has become nothing more than a numbers game, with no real economic significance. Also, the mentioned ministry spokesperson underlined that the levies increase significantly further exposes the United States practice of weaponizing tariffs as a tool of bullying and coercion, turning itself into a joke.
The trade war between the world’s two largest economies has become a destabilizing factor in the markets. Also, against the background of the implementation of this process, which so far shows only a consistent escalation and does not signal a possible normalization of the situation, concerns about the implementation of the global recession scenario have significantly increased.
It is worth noting that the US president imposed tariffs on almost all countries, many of which have already announced their intention to negotiate with Washington to improve the terms of trade cooperation. At the same time, China is demonstrating its readiness for further confrontation and adheres to an approach that provides for virtually instant countermeasures after each tightening of the United States trade policy. The Asian country characterizes Washington’s actions as unilateral bullying.
Speaking to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on Friday before the announcement of the new levies, Xi Jinping said there are no winners in the trade war. He also noted that going against the whole world will only lead to self-isolation.
Moreover, Xi Jinping stated that for more than 70 years, China’s development has been based on self-reliance and hard work, and never on handouts from others. He also noted that the Asian country is not afraid of any unjust suppression.
Until now Xi Jinping has not made any public statements about the trade war between China and the United States. The first comments turned out to be harsh in a certain sense against the background of the traditional more restrained approach of the Asian country authorities to assessing certain events and processes in the public information space. It is worth noting that China’s state media and some officials have already made statements about Beijing’s strength and resilience in the face of the challenge in the form of a tariff confrontation. Probably, this publicly declared position of the Asian country reflects the confidence of Chinese political leaders in a significant margin of economic strength and a great positive potential to survive a period of excessive geopolitical turbulence and a kind of egregious uncertainty.
Xi Jinping said that regardless of what changes occur in the external environment, Beijing will remain confident, stay focused, and concentrate on managing its own affairs well.
It is worth mentioning that this week, Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause in raising tariffs on goods imported from other countries. At the same time, this decision did not affect China. Obviously, Beijing could not fail to notice this and take it into account in its response. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said that under pressure from China and other parties, the United States temporarily postponed the imposition of high reciprocal tariffs on certain trading partners. It was also noted that this is a symbolic and minor step that does not change the fundamental nature of the US practice of using trade coercion to pursue its own interests.
China has stated that it has no intention to engage in a further escalation of the trade war, but this does not mean that Beijing is not using options beyond the standard approach to responding to a tariff confrontation.
The media, citing Chinese commentators who link to the Asian country, described several possible countermeasures against the United States. Among other things, in this case, the possibility was noted that Beijing may suspend cooperation with Washington on the control of fentanyl flows. Another potential countermeasure option from the Asian country is a ban on the import of US poultry. Moreover, the media noted the not-minimal probability that Beijing will restrict the access of companies from the United States to the markets of certain services, for example, legal consultancies. Besides, China may pay close attention to the activities of US firms in the Asian country as a whole. Using this potential option of countermeasures is likely to mean stricter control over the relevant foreign business and narrowing the space of opportunities for appropriate companies. In some cases, such an approach will mean that it will be virtually impossible to continue doing business in China.
A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said that if the United States persists in substantially harming Beijing’s interests, countermeasures will be resolutely taken. It was also noted that the Asian country will fight to the end. This statement to a certain extent contrasts with the claims about the unwillingness to engage in further escalation.
It’s worth noting that Beijing announced this week that it would curb the import of Hollywood movies. This statement was made after China’s previous act of tightening economic countermeasures against the United States. In this case, it implies Beijing’s decision to raise tariffs on goods imported from the US to 84%. Also, as part of the mentioned countermeasures, China has banned some US companies from doing business in the Asian country or importing Chinese dual-use products.
It is worth noting that the economic confrontation between Beijing and Washington is likely to worsen relations between the two capitals in other areas.
This week, the media released insider information according to which Donald Trump is waiting for Xi Jinping to make the first move towards negotiations, which will be something like a request for easing trade policy. Also in this context, it was noted that Mr. Trump forbade his team to take the initiative in the mentioned direction. The information published by the media was not commented on at the official level. It is worth noting that Beijing has repeatedly refused to arrange a telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. It is possible that over time, the positions of the parties will change under the pressure of the consequences of the economic confrontation, but so far China and the United States have shown willingness only to further increase tensions.
Beijing is currently seeking to diversify its external economic cooperation. This means strengthening ties with various trading partners other than Washington. Xi Jinping’s Friday meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister took place on the eve of a multi-nation tour of Southeast Asia by the head of the People’s Republic of China next week. It is worth noting that the countries of the mentioned region have been significantly affected by Donald Trump’s tariffs. The 90-day pause in the increase in US tariffs could be a factor impacting the position of the Southeast Asian states regarding cooperation with Beijing. However, if this statement turns out to be true, the mentioned countries will face a difficult choice, consisting of China’s proposal for cooperation within specific conditions and attempts to improve ties with the United States amid uncertainty about what will happen after the completion of the specified pause.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia as part of a multi-nation tour. This will be his first overseas trip of the current year.
According to media reports, Xi Jinping is seeking to capitalize on the global turmoil provoked by Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Probably, as part of its international positioning, China will form a kind of image of a defender of the principles of fair and open trade, intending to strengthen and deepen economic ties in both Asia and Europe. The potential successful outcome of negotiations between other countries and Washington on easing the terms of trade cooperation will either worsen or completely cancel the prospects for a positive result of the mentioned intentions of Beijing.
This week, Xi Jinping called on China to build a shared future with neighboring countries. This statement clearly signals that Beijing is aware of the need to diversify economic ties amid rising tensions in relationships with Washington.
