JD Vance, U.S. Vice President, Faces Backlash for Derogatory Remarks About Chinese People
"We Borrow Money from Chinese 'Chon-nom' to Buy Goods"
Chinese State Media: "Shocking"; Foreign Ministry: "Saddening"
Amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and China due to the Trump administration's tariff war, U.S. Vice President JD Vance is facing backlash for making derogatory remarks about Chinese people. On the 8th (local time), Yonhap News reported, "China's state-run English media Global Times reported that 'a senior White House official made shocking remarks about China. This came amid growing backlash against the U.S.'s comprehensive reciprocal tariff economic policies.'"
On the 3rd, Vice President Vance, during an interview with Fox News discussing the Trump administration's trade policies, said, "We need to take a step back and objectively ask what economic globalization has brought to the U.S." He added, "It fundamentally rests on two principles: incurring massive debt and buying goods made by other countries for America."
He then stated, "We borrow money from Chinese 'chon-nom(peasants)' to buy goods. And those goods are made by Chinese chon-nom." The word "peasants" he used originates from a term that belittled rural tenant farmers and serfs and can be interpreted as "chon-nom," a derogatory term. In other words, he used a disparaging term targeting Chinese people in an official setting with the media.
On the 6th, U.S. media BuzzFeed cited an article titled "Local netizens shocked by U.S. officials' remarks about China amid market turmoil," reporting on Vice President Vance's comments. BuzzFeed criticized, "Vice President Vance insulted Chinese people while discussing trade policies with China," and said, "The only thing Vice President Vance can do is embarrass Americans globally." On social media, reactions included, "I like the Vice President, but was it really necessary to use the word 'chon-nom'?" and "Such remarks are unnecessarily provocative and aggressive."
China has strongly protested these remarks. The Global Times pointed out, "(Vance's) remarks even shocked American media and netizens." L? Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the media, "The current U.S. approach to China is to pressure China under various pretexts," and evaluated, "Vance's remarks are an attempt to shift the fundamental responsibility for the U.S. economic difficulties onto China." On the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Zhen said at a regular briefing, "It is both puzzling and saddening to hear the U.S. Vice President make such ignorant and rude remarks."
President Donald Trump of the United States and President Xi Jinping of China. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.
The U.S. will impose a total tariff rate of 104% on China starting from the 9th (local time) in response to China's retaliatory tariffs against President Trump's reciprocal tariffs. Earlier, after taking office in January, President Trump imposed so-called "10% + 10%" tariffs on China and announced that starting from the 9th, a 34% country-specific reciprocal tariff would be imposed. When China announced it would impose retaliatory tariffs accordingly, President Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff if China did not withdraw the measure.
In response, China's Ministry of Commerce stated, "China firmly opposes the U.S. threat to raise tariffs on China by an additional 50%," and added, "If the U.S. implements the escalated tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests."
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