United front right response to US injustice

While many are still betting on which side will blink first between China and the United States in their tit-for-tat tariff war, the answer is already there.

According to the latest guidance from US Customs on the weekend, smartphones and computers, along with some other goods, will not be affected by the Donald Trump administration's "reciprocal" tariff policy.

This is a low-key step back. But it is the first signal of the administration's easing of tariffs under domestic pressure, particularly from those enterprises manufacturing in China for the US market, following Beijing raising its retaliatory tariffs to 125 percent on Friday after the US' levies reached an absurd 145 percent.

That Beijing also announced on Friday that it would no longer respond to the US' future tariff increases is a coolheaded choice as anything above a 125 percent tariff is a political stunt.

While the slight blink from the US was generally unexpected. It is not without reason given the pushback from US enterprises and businesses. With the imposition of its "reciprocal" tariffs, it has been estimated that the retail price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the US, for instance, will surge from $1,599 to $2,300, and if Apple moves its plants producing its devices from China to the US, to avoid the tariff, the price might hit $3,600 due to the higher cost of production in the US.

China's firm opposition to the tariff pressure being applied by the US administration lies not only in the confidence it has in its own advantages — its huge market and complete industry chains — but also, and more importantly, in the fact that this is a tariff war that has been imposed on China. In essence the aim of the US is not to construct a fair trade order but to extract economic gains by means of coercion and trade bullying.

China has remained and will continue to remain open to improving Sino-US relations and resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation, whether in the field of trade or technology or security. But when the US approach infringes on its core interests, such as its right to development, China has no choice but to stand up to defend its legitimate rights and interests.

As President Xi Jinping said during his meeting with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on Friday, China has achieved its development over the past 70-plus years through self-reliance and arduous struggle. It has never relied on the mercy of others, still less feared any unreasonable suppression. No matter how the external world changes, China will remain focused on doing its own affairs well.

More parties have acknowledged China's attitude toward the tariff war. In recent days, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao has been communicating intensively with other parties on the trade war the US is waging. Last week, his list of video calls included those to his European Union, Malaysian, South African, Saudi Arabian and Brazilian counterparts, as well as the head of the World Trade Organization.

Notably, compared with his visit to China late last month, EU commerce chief Maros Sefcovic's talks with Wang last week proved to be more fruitful, showing that the EU has made new judgments and plans in light of the fast-changing situation over the past two weeks.

The two sides agreed to start consultations as soon as possible to discuss market access-related issues in depth; immediately launch negotiations on electric vehicle price commitments; and restart the China-EU trade remedy dialogue mechanism. Which are all important areas and issues that can activate the upgrading of China-EU economic and trade cooperation.

No wonder NYT columnist Thomas Friedman wrote in a recent article that the US leader had so "alienated our allies" that "many may never align with us against China in the same way".

Wang's talks with the other aforementioned parties have seemingly reinforced the fact the US' tariff blackmail gambit has gravely backfired.

WTO members are obliged to jointly defend an open and rules-based multilateral trading system and properly resolve differences through dialogue and cooperation under the WTO framework. Most members want to hold true to that rules-based system rather than accept the US administration's law of the jungle.

China is adjusting its sails to turn the headwind from the US into a tailwind by encouraging like-minded partners to advance free trade and a rules-based world order. China will therefore continue to rally those desiring to safeguard fairness and justice in international trade under the WTO system. More countries should stand with it to counter the bullying behavior of the US.