BEIJING, April 9 — With firm will and abundant means, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight till the end if the United States (US) insists on further escalating economic and trade restrictive measures, its Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.
"I want to emphasise that there is no winner in a trade war, and China does not want a trade war, but the Chinese government will by no means sit by when the legitimate rights and interests of its people are being hurt and deprived," said an official with the ministry, as reported by Xinhua.
The official made the remarks when responding to media questions regarding a white paper released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office on China's position on some issues concerning China-US economic and trade relations.
Noting that China and the US' successes are opportunities rather than threats to each other, the official said that China hopes the US will immediately remove its unilateral imposition of tariffs and work with China to strengthen dialogue, manage differences, and promote cooperation.
China is willing to communicate with the US on key bilateral economic and trade issues, address their respective concerns through dialogue and consultations on an equal footing, and jointly advance the steady, healthy and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations.
The official said that the US' use of tariffs as a weapon to exert maximum pressure and pursue self-interest is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying.
Under the guise of pursuing "reciprocity" and "fairness," the US is engaging in zero-sum games and, in essence, seeking "America First" and "American exceptionalism,".
The US is exploiting tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order, prioritising US interests above the global common good and sacrificing the legitimate interests of countries worldwide to serve its own hegemonic agenda,
Noting that the US is also deliberately severing the well-established global industrial and supply chains and breaking the market-oriented free trade rules, the official said these practices seriously interrupt the economic development of countries around the globe and affect the long-term stable growth of the world economy.
"It is well proven by history and facts that by raising tariffs, the US will not solve its own problems," the official said, noting that instead, it would lead to drastic fluctuations in the financial market, drive up the US inflationary pressure, weaken its industrial foundation, and increase its risk of economic recession, and ultimately, backfire.
As the world's largest developing and developed countries respectively, China and the US are highly complementary in the fields of natural endowment, human resources, market, capital, and technology, among others, and can achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
— Bernama
