NEW DELHI: China on Tuesday called upon India to stand together against the “US abuse of tariffs” and overcome difficulties.
In a social media post on X, spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India Yu Jing slammed the US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariff on China and said that all countries should uphold the principles of extensive consultation, practice true multilateralism, jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism.
“China’s economy is underpinned by a system that ensures steady growth, and produces positive spillovers. Chinese manufacturing is built on a complete and continually upgrading industrial system, sustained investment in R&D, and a strong focus on innovation. China is a firm defender of economic globalization and multilateralism, which has injected strong impetus into the world economy, contributing to around 30 percent of global growth annually on average. We will continue to work with the rest of the world to safeguard the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core,” Yu said.
“China-India economic and trade relationship is based on complementarity and mutual benefit. Facing the US abuse of tariffs, which deprives countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development, the two largest developing countries should stand together to overcome the difficulties. Trade and tariff wars have no winners. All countries should uphold the principles of extensive consultation, practice true multilateralism, jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism,” she added.
This comes at a time when China remains one of the US’s top trading partners, with bilateral goods trade reaching $582 billion in 2024. The US trade deficit with China — ranging between $263 billion and $295 billion last year — remains a key point of contention.
The fresh threat from Trump, issued via a post on Truth Social, warned that unless China rolls back its recently announced 34 per cent tariff hike by April 8, Washington will respond with additional duties, raising the cumulative tariff rate on Chinese goods to a staggering 104 per cent.
Meanwhile, China vowed to retaliate against the United States if President Donald Trump goes ahead with his threat to impose fresh 50 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports.
Reacting to Trump’s new threat, China hinted of imposing more retaliatory tariffs on American products. Beijing said that it will take countermeasures against US “to safeguard its own rights and interests.”
