Xi Jinping: "No Winner in Tariff War... Must Prevent Unilateral Harassment"

On the 11th (local time), Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) is exchanging greetings with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (left), who is visiting China, before their summit meeting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized during a summit with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on the 11th that there are "no winners" in the tariff war led by U.S. President Donald Trump, and stressed that China and Europe must jointly resist the United States' unilateral bullying.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, during the summit held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, President Xi stated, "There are no winners in a tariff war, and confronting the world will only isolate oneself," adding, "China and the European Union (EU) must fulfill their international responsibilities, jointly protect the trend of economic globalization and the international trade environment, and together resist unilateral bullying."

President Xi further emphasized, "Over the past 70 years, China's development has relied on self-reliance and hard struggle; it has depended on no one's grace and feared no unreasonable oppression. Regardless of how the external environment changes, China will remain steadfast in its beliefs and focus on its own affairs."

Prime Minister Sanchez responded, "Europe upholds free trade and openness, advocates multilateralism, and opposes unilateral tariff impositions. There will be no winners in a trade war," adding, "Facing a complex and severe international situation, Spain and the EU hope to strengthen communication and cooperation with China, uphold the international trade order, jointly address challenges such as climate change and poverty, and protect the common interests of the international community." Xinhua also reported that the two leaders exchanged views on issues including the Ukraine war.

Attention is focused on whether China and the EU will jointly respond to the U.S. tariff war in the future. On the 10th (local time), the U.S. announced that the cumulative tariff rate on China since the start of President Trump's second term has reached 145%. In response, the Chinese government began imposing retaliatory tariffs of 84% on the U.S. the previous day and announced plans to raise the tariff rate to 125% starting from the 12th, while also countering with non-tariff measures such as advising against travel to the U.S. and reducing imports of American films.