China has shown firmness in its response to Donald Trump’s tariffs and has done so on several fronts, with the announcement of more rates against their products, an ambitious defense budget and a strong diplomacy that warned that Beijing is ready to “fight until the end.”
Washington announced this week the duplication to 20% of tariffs on Chinese products, to which the Asian giant responded in the same way as last month when Trump imposed his first rates: with taxes of 10% and 15% aimed at specific sectors, in this case to US agricultural imports.
He also added to a group of American companies related to defense and security to their export control list, and another to their list of unreliable entities.
All this adds to the 15% rates announced in February to American coal and natural gas products, as well as others of 10% to those of crude oil, agricultural machinery, large -displayed cars and trucks. He also imposed controls for the sale of key minerals and opened an investigation against Google.
China, in addition, has insisted this week that the reason wielded by Trump to impose and subsequently duplicate its tariffs, the “lack of efforts” of Beijing to eradicate the arrival of Fentanyl to his country, is “an excuse” that “distorts reality.”
The tycoon ensures that 90% of opioid deaths in his country are due to this substance that, according to Washington, arrives through Mexico and Canada, but whose precursors come from China.
In response, the Chinese Executive said Tuesday in a ‘White Paper’ that has prevented the use, smuggling, production and traffic of that substance and its precursors, which has achieved “remarkable results” and that cooperation with the US has been “deep”.
China defends and keeps its military spending firm
In recent weeks, the spokesmen of the Chinese exterior portfolio had already warned the United States that it did not impose more tariffs or that, otherwise, it would retaliate.
And since they entered into force, last day 4, some Chinese officials have raised the tone: “We are ready to fight until the end if EU wishes a war, whether commercial or any other type,” Chinese diplomatic representation proclaimed in Washington.
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“No war should be fought or won,” said spokesman Lin Jian today in the daily press conference of the portfolio, although he accused Washington of “deliberately inciting the ideological confrontation” and of exaggerating the alleged “Chinese threat.”
The spokesman urged EU to stop imposing “his hegemonic logic,” to leave his “obsolete mental mentality of the cold war” since he refrains from “using the ‘strategic competition’ as a pretext to contain China.”
On the other hand, China decided yesterday to increase its defense expense for 7.2%for the third consecutive year, making deaf ears to the US proposal to cut in half the military budget of the great powers in another sign that it is not willing to give in to Trump.
Prepared for more commercial conflicts
On the margin, the Chinese prime minister, Li Qiang, acknowledged yesterday at the inauguration of the Popular National Assembly (ANP, Legislative) that the “growing complexity of the outside environment”, referring to Trump’s return, will have “a greater impact” in the Asian country in areas such as commercial or technological.
However, the Minister of Finance, Lan Foan, defended today that China has “reserved enough tools” to “counteract any uncertainty that may arise in the outside environment”, in reference to the commercial war.
“The more they try to repress and block ourselves, the faster we will advance in our own innovation,” said Zheng Shanjie, the head of the country’s maximum economic planning body, who stressed that the added value of Chinese high -tech manufacturing increased 8.9% in full technological competition with Washington.
He also pointed out that the production of new energy vehicles exceeded 13 million, which represents “more than 60% of world production”, than that of integrated circuits “grew rapidly” and that the country has made important advances in fields such as AI, the aerospace industry or biomedicine.
Meanwhile, the head of Commerce, Wang Wentao, acknowledged “serious challenges” for his portfolio “given the global trends towards protectionism”, but warned that “coercion and threats will not work” with China.
The commercial war will also tension the tomorrow’s appearance of the country’s highest diplomat, Wang Yi, who will review the media in the margins of the ANP before the media.
With EFE information.
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