China’s state-run Global Times uncorked a furious editorial on Tuesday denouncing President Donald Trump for attempting to “blackmail” China with his “abuse of tariffs.”
The Global Times dismissed Trump’s talk of “reciprocity” and accused him of using tariffs as a “tool for extreme pressure and to pursue selfish interests.”
“Tariff blackmail will not intimidate China, nor will it undermine justice. China does not provoke trouble, nor is it intimidated by trouble. Pressuring and threatening are not the right way in dealing with China,” the paper huffed.
China is among the world’s worst abusers of tariffs and trade restrictions for protectionist purposes, but Chinese Communist ideology holds that Beijing always plays fair, seeks nothing but “justice,” and wants “win-win” solutions for every trade dispute. Chinese officials and state media invariably portray every response to their trade policies as “protectionism” while claiming Beijing could never be guilty of such a sin against free trade.
The Global Times delivers heated editorials in defense of Communist Party interests on a regular basis. But Tuesday’s broadside against Trump’s tariffs was among the most infuriated tantrums the paper has ever thrown, blustering through nearly a thousand words to extol the virtues of polite Chinese society, tout the strength of its “ancient civilization,” and insist its economy is utterly invulnerable to “trade war” pressures.
A certain sense of panic hung over the endless bluster, as when the Global Times flailed about looking for allies in America and settled on California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The newspaper recalled:
After the US announced “reciprocal tariffs,” Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, the largest manufacturing base in the US, immediately stated, “California is not Washington,” and that his administration will pursue its own “strategic trade relationships” with international trade partners. This demonstrates that the global trade system, based on industrial chain division of labor and mutual benefit among countries, possesses a robust vitality that cannot be shaken by any political decision lacking realistic logic.
The state mouthpiece also tried to cast the trade dispute as a morality play, with China holding the superior position. This is very big talk for a vicious tyranny that uses actual slave labor and ravages the environment to keep production costs down.
Continuing, the op-ed read:
More importantly, China stands on the side of morality and historical righteousness. The US’ latest round of tariff hikes targets more than 180 countries and regions around the world, including even the United Nations-designated “least developed countries.” Some commentators have noted that such high tariffs will deal a devastating blow to vulnerable nations with narrow economic structures and heavy reliance on exports. China’s decisive countermeasures against the erroneous practices of the US not only defend its own interests but also actively uphold a fair and free world trading system.
The leftist New York Times (NYT) reported on Monday that Beijing is frantically censoring bad news and negative commentary about its economy, which is far less sturdy or armored against tariffs than the Global Times claimed in Tuesday’s op-ed.
One example was a social media post on Friday from He Bin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who warned that Beijing was “completely wrong” to retaliate against Trump with higher tariffs and regulatory barriers. When a screenshot of his post went viral, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shut down the entire department He worked for, without warning or explanation. Chinese social media platforms began obscuring images of He’s critical post with gray pixels.
“Mr. Trump is bidding to transform a global trading system that China currently dominates. And exports remain the strongest engine for growth at a time when China is trying to dig itself out of a property crisis and tackle other major economic problems,” the NYT noted.
The BBC on Tuesday saw China battening down the hatches for a trade war by deliberately allowing its currency to weaken so its exports become cheaper and ordering state-run enterprises to buy up stocks in “a move to stabilize the market.”
“Shaken by a prolonged property market crisis and rising unemployment, Chinese people are just not spending enough. Indebted local governments have also been struggling to increase investments or expand the social safety net,” the British public service broadcaster noted.
