There is no winner in a tariff war, and going against the world will only result in self-isolation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on Friday.
Xi said over the past 70 years and more, China has achieved development through self-reliance and arduous struggle, never relying on others’ mercies, still less fearing any unreasonable suppression, according to Xinhua News Agency.
He added that no matter how the external world changes, China will remain confident and focused on running its own affairs well.
Noting that both China and the EU are major economies in the world and firm supporters of economic globalization and free trade, Xi said the two sides have formed a close relationship of economic symbiosis with their combined economic output exceeding one-third of the world’s total, per Xinhua.
He called on China and the EU to fulfill their international responsibilities, work together to safeguard economic globalization and the international trading environment, and jointly resist unilateral bullying.
This not only safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of China and the EU, but also serves to maintain fairness and justice within the international community while upholding international rules and order, Xi said.
Sanchez said China is an important partner of the EU, and Spain has always supported the stable development of EU-China relations, Xinhua reported.
Noting the EU is committed to open and free trade, upholds multilateralism and opposes unilateral tariff hikes, Sanchez said there is no winner in a trade war.
Facing the complex and challenging international situation, Spain and the EU are willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China to maintain the international trade order, cope with challenges including climate change and poverty, and safeguard the common interests of the international community, he said.
The two sides also released the Action Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Spain (2025-2028), according to Xinhua.
The meeting came against the backdrop as the US is wielding the tariff stick by imposing so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on most trading partners, which has caused global concerns.
Jin Ling, deputy director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that against the backdrop of the unilateral global tariff war launched by the US, the Spanish leader’s visit to China and exchanging views with the Chinese leader on free trade is of great strategic significance.
It is important for China and European countries as open economies to join hands to deal with the unilateral bullying and maintain a free and open global trading system, which will have a certain demonstration effect on other economies in the world, Jin said.
‘US economic extremism’
On Friday, several Chinese government authorities showcased Beijing’s solid and stern position, with firm countermeasures against Washington after the US government’s move to raise the “reciprocal tariffs” on Chinese imports to 125 percent.
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced Friday that China will raise the additional tariffs on products imported from the US to 125 percent. The commission said the US imposition of excessively high tariffs on China seriously violates international economic and trade rules, goes against basic economic laws and common sense, and is nothing but unilateral bullying and coercion.
Even if the US imposes even higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and ultimately go down as a joke in world economic history, according to the commission.
“Given that it’s already impossible for the Chinese market to accept US imports at the current tariff level, if the US imposes further tariffs on Chinese products, China will ignore it,” it said. However, should the US persist in substantially undermining China’s interests, China will take firm countermeasures and fight to the end, the commission added.
Also on Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that China has filed a lawsuit against the US with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism following the latest US tariff hikes.
China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and resolutely uphold the multilateral trading system and the international economic and trade order, reads the MOFCOM statement.
The US’ obsession with the numbers game of tariffs reflects its economic extremism and bullying posture, said Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. He noted that the foundation of China-US trade has been undermined by the US protectionist practices, and no matter how the US plays the tariff game, it will still fail to force China to yield.
According to Bai, China’s composure and resilience in handling trade and tariff issues stems from its respect for international rules, firm support for economic globalization, and its own robust economic strength. In the face of potential further tariff threats from the US, China’s countermeasures will remain rational and resolute, unaffected by the mere piling up of tariff numbers.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs in January, China’s foreign trade hit a record high in total value in 2024. The nation’s total goods imports and exports in yuan reached 43.85 trillion yuan (about $6.1 trillion) last year, up 5 percent year-on-year.
China’s status as the world’s biggest goods trader was further strengthened with its exports and imports accounting for 14.5 percent and 10.5 percent of the world’s total in the first three quarters of 2024, up 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points year-on-year.
He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Friday that by not following the US in further imposing additional tariffs, China is demonstrating a rational and responsible stance, which is in stark contrast to the deliberately provocative and invalid actions from the US.
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