U.S. President Biden Takes Hardline Stance on China Ahead of November Midterm Elections
Calls Reports of Tariff Removal Delay Due to Inflation Issues "Absurd and Doomed to Fail"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Chinese media are raising critical voices in response to foreign reports that the U.S. may delay plans to remove tariffs on China citing the Taiwan issue.
China's state-run Global Times reported on the 11th, citing experts' assessments, that the foreign reports suggesting the U.S. might maintain tariffs on Chinese products are "absurd." It emphasized, "If the U.S. maintains tariffs on Chinese products, it will not only struggle to resolve its own problems such as inflation but will also have to swallow the fruits it has sown itself."
Earlier, Reuters reported that following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and the subsequent large-scale military exercises conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army around Taiwan, the U.S. is reconsidering the removal of some trade tariff measures.
Initially, the Biden administration had considered removing some tariffs on Chinese products imposed during the Trump administration as part of measures to address inflationary pressures. The report stated that President Joe Biden has put this on hold ahead of the November midterm elections. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also explained in an interview with Bloomberg TV on the 11th that "the situation has become particularly complicated since Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan."
The Global Times criticized the U.S. for triggering tensions around Taiwan and then using this issue as an excuse to bring economic problems into play to pressure China. He Weiyuan, Executive Director of the China WTO Research Association, pointed out, "This is a political necessity to respond to China ahead of the midterm elections," adding, "This plan is absurd and destined to fail." He also evaluated that "the tariff burden is felt more heavily by the U.S. side."
In reality, the U.S. is facing record-high inflation. The media reported, "The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.5% in July," noting that "although it fell from the 40-year high of 9.1% in June, it remains high, while China's CPI for the same period (July) was 2.7%." It further mentioned, "Along with inflation, the U.S. is also facing recession risks," citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowering its U.S. GDP growth forecast last month from 2.9% to 2.3%. Hu Qimu, Chief Researcher at SynoSteel Economic Research Institute, said, "Despite facing the highest inflation in the U.S., the Biden administration hesitates to implement tariff removal measures, which shows the U.S. government's unscrupulous attitude toward China."
Regarding President Biden signing the 'CHIPS Act' to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry, the media also criticized it as "an attempt to maliciously and overtly crack down on China's semiconductor industry." An anonymous expert told the media, "The Biden administration is persistently stuck in ideological confrontation, Cold War mentality, and bloc politics, yet lacks new ideas."
Executive Director He Weiyuan also forecasted, "The U.S. will continue to push for supply chain decoupling, bind allies, and use multilateral platforms to maintain its containment strategy against China."
Nevertheless, the media expressed confidence, noting that China's trade indicators are improving. According to China's Customs Administration, Sino-U.S. trade increased by 11.8% to 2.93 trillion yuan (approximately 567 trillion won). The trade surplus with the U.S. rose by 21.7% to 1.57 trillion yuan. Earlier, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mentioned that if the U.S. removes all tariffs, it would benefit American consumers and businesses, and that U.S. think tanks have calculated that tariff removal could reduce U.S. inflation by about 1%.
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