The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday said U.S. actions in global trade are the biggest source of concern regarding a new round of trade war.
A recent article released by a U.S. media outlet commented that China’s increasing investment in manufacturing will exacerbate overcapacity, squeezing businesses around the world and raising the specter of a new global trade war.
When asked to comment on the article, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday pointed out that the popularity of “made in China” worldwide is the result of persistent investment in research and development and cultivating comparative advantages rather than subsidized dumping, still less cornering the market through protectionist measures.
“With our full-fledged industrial chain in manufacturing, we have helped keep the global industrial and supply chains stable and turbocharged technological progress and industrial upgrade in the world,” said Lin.
For 15 years running, the global market share of China’s exports of goods has ranked first and that of China’s imports of goods has ranked second, Lin stressed.
It is widely considered that China has played an important role for the steady and sound growth of the global economy, he added.
The spokesperson also noted that whenever the U.S. is in trouble, some Americans and media outlets in the country will scapegoat other countries to divert attention. “This is not uncommon.”
The U.S. adopted the Inflation Reduction Act to resort to discriminatory subsidies, kept impeding the appointment of new judges to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body, and arbitrarily imposed high tariffs on goods from other countries, Lin said.
“Facts show clearly that these U.S. practices are the biggest source of concern for a new round of trade war in the world,” said Lin.
Lin also mentioned that last year, among WTO members, the U.S. alone submitted 454 notifications about technical barriers to trade, more than the combined number of the five members following the U.S.
By resorting to protectionism, the U.S. will not be able to reap the benefit alone, but will only lose the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, Lin added.
China will further expand high-standard opening up and foster new driving forces for global growth, Lin said.
He reiterated that an open China embracing cooperation will consistently provide opportunities to the world.
