China Slams Trump’s Tariffs As Economic Bullying

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday that threats and pressure are not the proper approach to dealing with China, calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” a form of bullying.

The tariffs are “typical unilateralism and protectionism, and economic bullying”, spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference, adding that U.S. tariffs in the name of reciprocity only serve its own interest at the expense of other countries.

Last week, Trump introduced an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods as part of steep levies imposed on most U.S. trade partners, bringing the total duties on China this year to 54%. China retaliated with a series of countermeasures.

‘Abuse Of Tariffs’

Lin deferred to other bodies the question of whether China would engage in negotiations with the United States.

U.S. customs agents have been collecting Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries since Saturday.

“The abuse of tariffs by the United States is tantamount to depriving countries, especially those in the Global South, of their right to development,” Lin said, citing a widening gap between the rich and poor in each country, and less developed countries suffering a greater impact.

All countries should uphold consultation, joint construction and sharing, and “genuine multilateralism”, he said.

Lin also urged countries to jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, and safeguard the international system and the multilateral trading system according to the United Nations and World Trade Organization values respectively.

‘Tariff A Beautiful Thing’

“We have massive financial deficits with China, the European Union, and many others. The only way this problem can be cured is with tariffs, which are now bringing tens of billions of dollars into the U.S.A,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold.”

“The surplus with these countries has grown during the “Presidency” of Sleepy Joe Biden. We are going to reverse it, and reverse it quickly. Some day people will realize that tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!” he said.

‘Economic Revolution’

In another post, Trump said, “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless “whipping post,” but not any longer.”

“We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than five trillion dollars of investment, and rising fast!”

“This is an economic revolution, and we will win. Hand tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, Make America Great Again!!!” the U.S. President added.

(With inputs from Reuters)