On April 10th, the Chinese Embassy in The Gambia held a media briefing, which journalists from various Gambian media attended. Zhao Shangsen, Chargé d’Affaires a. i. of the Chinese Embassy, introduced Chinese Government’s Position on Opposing U.S. Abuse of Tariffs. The briefing is as follows:

Six hours ago, China raised additional tariffs on all goods imported from the United States to 84 percent, and has added 18 US entities to China’s export control and unreliable entity lists. These are the latest measures yet, taken by the Chinese Government in order to counter the US' unilateral tariff hikes. 

Let me be clear, China has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate. We do not want trade or tariff wars.  

We Chinese are not troublemakers, but we will not flinch when trouble comes our way. Intimidation, threat and blackmail are not the right way to engage with China. We will not let anyone take away the Chinese people’s legitimate right to development. We will not tolerate any attempt to harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests. Judging from its actions, the U.S. doesn’t seem to be serious about having talks right now. If the U.S. truly wants to talk, it should let people see that they’re ready to treat others with equality, respect and mutual benefit. If the U.S. decides not to care about the interests of the U.S. itself, China and the rest of the world, and is determined to fight a tariff/trade war, China’s response will continue to the end. China is not blinking.

The United States has imposed tariffs on all its trading partners, including China, under various pretexts. By taking such action, the United States defies the fundamental laws of economics and market principles, disregards the balanced outcomes achieved through multilateral trade negotiations, ignores the fact that the U.S. has long benefited substantially from international trade, and weaponizes tariffs to exert maximum pressure for selfish interests. It attempts to exploit tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order, put U.S. interests above the common good of the international community, and advance U.S. hegemonic ambitions at the cost of the legitimate interests of all countries.

As the second largest economy and second largest market for consumer goods, China is committed to opening ever wider to the world, no matter how the international situation changes.

Economic globalization is the only way to human progress. The world will not, and should not, return to mutual isolation or fragmentation. The whole world aspires for win-win cooperation. Economic bullying that shifts risks onto others will ultimately backfire. Making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all is a shared responsibility of the international community.

Development is an inalienable right of all countries, not the exclusive privilege of a few. International affairs should be addressed through consultation, and the future of the world should be decided by all countries. There are no winners in trade or tariff wars. Protectionism is a dead end.

We are confident that the vast majority of countries, committed to fairness and justice, will stand on the right side of history and act in their best interests. The world must embrace fairness and reject hegemonism. China stands ready to work with all parties to uphold true multilateralism, jointly oppose various forms of unilateralism and protectionism, defuse risks, address challenges and promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.