China is reaching out to other nations as the US layers on more tariffs, in what appears to be an attempt by Beijing to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat.
Days into the effort, it is meeting only partial success from countries unwilling to ally with the main target of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Facing the cratering of global markets, Trump on Wednesday backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, saying countries were lining up to negotiate more favorable conditions.
Photo: AP
China has refused to seek talks, saying the US was insincere and that it would “fight to the end” in a tariff war, prompting Trump to further jack up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125 percent. China has retaliated with tariffs on US goods of 84 percent, which took effect yesterday.
Trump’s move was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the US and most of the world to a showdown between the US and China.
China has thus far focused on Europe, with a phone call between Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “sending a positive message to the outside world.”
Photo: AFP
The two are each other’s largest trading partners.
“China is willing to work with the EU to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of China and the EU, strengthen communication and exchanges, and deepen China-EU trade, investment and industrial cooperation,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
That was followed by a video conference between Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤) and EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday to discuss the US’ “reciprocal” tariffs.
Wang said the tariffs “seriously infringe upon the legitimate interests of all countries, seriously violate WTO rules, seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system and seriously impact the stability of the global economic order,” Xinhua said.
“It is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” Wang was quoted as saying.
“China is willing to resolve differences through consultation and negotiation, but if the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” Wang said.
Wang has also spoken with the 10-member ASEAN, while Li has met with business leaders.
China has “already made a full evaluation and is prepared to deal with all kinds of uncertainties, and will introduce incremental policies according to the needs of the situation,” Xinhua quoted Li as saying.
Not all countries are interested in linking up with China, especially those with a history of disputes with Beijing.
“We speak for ourselves, and Australia’s position is that free and fair trade is a good thing,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.
“We engage with all countries, but we stand up for Australia’s national interest and we stand on our own two feet,” he added.
China imposed a series of official and unofficial trade barriers against Australia in 2020 after then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison’s government angered Beijing by calling for an independent inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic.
India has also reportedly turned down a Chinese call for cooperation, and Russia, typically seen as China’s closest geopolitical partner, has been left out of the Trump tariffs altogether.
Yet, Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Cambodia find themselves in a particular bind. They benefited when factories moved to their countries from China due to rising costs. They are being hit by punishing tariffs, but have few buyers outside the US and are already operating on razor-thin margins.
Trump had previously denied contemplating a pause, but the drama over his tariffs would continue as the administration prepares to engage in country-by-country negotiations.
Meanwhile, tariffs would be 10 percent for the countries where the larger ones were paused.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS