China Vows To Fight Trump Tariffs

China on Friday called on the European Union to join hands to resist “unilateral bullying” by the United States, referring to the mammoth 145 per cent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on imported Chinese goods and the suspended 20 per cent on goods from the bloc.

China also said it is ready to fight a trade war if the US continues to act “recklessly”.

The appeal was made by President Xi Jinping as he met his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, in Beijing. State-run news agency Xinhua said Mr Xi also warned the EU it needed to cooperate with China so the two can ride out the mounting trade war with Washington, D.C.

“China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities… and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,” Mr Xi said, stressing this would not only “safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also… safeguard international fairness and justice.”

The Spanish Prime Minister – whose nation buys about $50 billion of goods from China every year – said tensions over trade should not impede EU’s cooperation with Beijing.

“Spain and Europe have a significant trade deficit with China…” Mr Sanchez admitted, “But we must not let trade tensions stand in the way of the potential growth of our relationships.”

In a separate statement – underlining Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance towards Trump’s tariffs – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said “trade wars have no winners”.

“China does not want to fight these wars… but it is not scared. If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue (then) it must stop applying extreme pressure and acting recklessly. These tactics do not work on China…” the spokesperson said, serving yet another warning to Trump, “If the US insists on a tariff and trade war, China’s response will continue to the end.”

Trump’s sweeping tariffs – few, if any, countries and territories have been left untouched – have unsettled and roiled the global markets. But the biggest target has been China.

The current 145 per cent levy includes a 20 per cent tax levied earlier this year over Beijing’s alleged role in the global fentanyl (a deadly synthetic narcotic) supply chain.

And it excludes steel and aluminium imports, as well as autos and auto parts, on each of which Trump has slapped an additional 25 per cent tariffs on under separate regimes.

Beijing has responded with high tariffs of its own; on Wednesday it imposed 84 per cent taxes on all imported American goods as it accused the US of “arrogance and bullying behaviour”.

The hostile back-and-forth between the US and China has also prompted Beijing, in a rather unprecedented move, to look for support from the global community, including India.

“Make Elephant, Dragon Dance”

In fact, Trump’s tariffs seem to be doing what decades of political and diplomatic wrangling could not, at least with any great degree of success – to get India and China to work together.

The tariff war has led Beijing to make conciliatory statements about Delhi; the latest was Tuesday, when the Chinese Embassy called on India and China to “stand together…”

READ | “India, China Relationship Is…”: Beijing’s Message On Trump Tariffs

“China-India economic and trade relationship is based on mutual benefits. Facing the US’ abuse of tariffs, which deprives countries, especially in the ‘Global South’, of their right to development, the largest developing countries (in the area) should stand together…” Yu Jing, the spokesperson for the Embassy in Delhi, said on X.

Ms Yu’s X post followed a statement by President Jinping himself; on April 1, the Chinese leader told President Droupadi Murmu in Beijing that India and China should work together.

India has not yet responded to this statement, although External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the relationship between the two countries is moving in a “positive direction”.

With input from agencies

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