Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that China will continue to retaliate against the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs.” He accused Washington of “repaying good behavior with bad” at a press conference on Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary session.
He said that China’s efforts to help control the US fentanyl crisis were met with punitive tariffs, which are straining relations between the two countries. “No country should imagine that it can suppress China and maintain good relations with China at the same time,” Wang said. “Such double actions are not good for the stability of bilateral relations or building mutual trust.”
Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, both countries have begun reimposing retaliatory tariffs. The US has imposed a flat 20% tariff on all Chinese imports, while Beijing has retaliated by imposing an additional 15% tariff on US imports including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanding controls on trade with major US companies.
Regarding the Trump administration’s policy of protecting US interests above international cooperation, Wang said that such an approach, if adopted by every country in the world, would result in “the law of the jungle.”
“Small and weak countries will burn first, and international order and rules will be seriously undermined,” Wang said. “Major countries should fulfill their international obligations… and not seek to take advantage of and bully the weak.” On the Ukraine war, Wang reiterated China’s position that it supports resolving the conflict through political dialogue. He said that in retrospect, the Ukraine conflict “could have been prevented.”
“All sides must learn from the crisis,” he said, “among many other things, that security must be mutual and equal, and that no country should build its security on the insecurity of another.” Wang stressed that despite recent consultations between the US and Russia over the end of the Ukraine war, China-Russia relations remain as strong as ever. He also said that Beijing and Moscow are planning to hold joint celebrations this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Regarding Taiwan, which China claims as its own, Wang said, “Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country in the future.” “Advocating for Taiwan independence is to divide the country, supporting Taiwan independence is to interfere in China’s internal affairs, and complicity in Taiwan independence is to undermine the stability of the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “Those who support Taiwan independence are just playing with fire and will burn themselves.”
Asked about Trump’s plan to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians in neighboring countries, Wang said, “Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and any forced change in the status quo in the region will lead to new unrest.” He reiterated Beijing’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, saying China supports the peace plan put forward by Egypt and other Arab countries.
“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict recurs frequently because the two-state solution has only been half achieved,” Wang said. “The state of Israel has long been a reality, but the state of Palestine is still far from being achieved.”
