‘They have long benefitted from trade rules’: Chinese media says US cannot deprive other nations from development

As the trade war escalates, China hiked tariffs on US products to 84 per cent, while US hiked tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 per cent. Chinese media called it a ‘serious provocation to the world trade system’ and emphasised that the Chinese people’s right to development cannot be taken away. 

The Chinese government’s mouthpiece, Global Times, called the US policy of unilateralism a violation of the development rights of other nations and a “short-sighted approach that will ultimately backfire”.  It said that development is a common pursuit of humanity and all countries and peoples have equal rights to raise their standard of living. 

“As the world's largest economy, the US has long benefited from the trade rules, yet when faced with its own structural economic issues, it chooses to shift the burden onto other countries. This is extremely selfish and irresponsible,” stated Global Times in its editorial. 

It pointed out the implications of tariffs on developing as well as on the least developed nations. 

“Ensuring the stability and strong resilience of the supply chain is a necessary condition for the economic development of many countries, and foreign trade is an important way for a country to integrate into the process of globalization. However, the US is now preemptively setting up "gates" and "toll booths" along this path, even attempting to monopolize and manipulate other countries' development rights. This represents not only a regression in history, but also a betrayal of humanity's shared values,” it said.

The editorial called out the US for ‘fantasising’ about reshaping the global economic landscape even as it underestimates its own dependence on global supply chains and the resilience of other countries’ economies.

It called on other nations to cooperate against the ‘America First’ policy to “uphold the fair development rights of all countries and truly achieve shared prosperity”. 

Meanwhile, apart from the 84 per cent tariffs on US goods, China also added 12 American firms to its export control list as well as six US firms on its unreliable entity list from April 10. China cited national security and non-proliferation obligations as reasons behind its decision.