China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Friday vowed that Beijing would firmly retaliate against the United States if it escalated the trade war with more tariffs, striking a tough note despite the country’s economic challenges.
Mr. Wang’s comments came a day after President Trump suspended tariffs for goods coming from Mexico and Canada but did not do the same for items coming from China.
“If you choose to cooperate, you will achieve mutual benefit and win-win results; if you blindly exert pressure, China will definitely, resolutely counter,” the Chinese foreign minister said at a news briefing on the sidelines of China’s annual legislative session in Beijing.
Mr. Wang said the United States should “look within” for solutions to its fentanyl crisis and not blame countries like China for the problem, let alone impose tariffs on them. He also accused the Trump administration of being insincere toward China — a nod to Mr. Trump’s approach of publicly offering overtures toward China’s leader, Xi Jinping, while hitting the country with trade measures.
“No country can fantasize that it can suppress and contain China while at the same time develop good relations with China,” Mr. Wang said. “This kind of ‘two-faced’ approach is not only detrimental to the stability of bilateral relations, but also unable to build mutual trust.”
Mr. Wang’s news conference, an annual affair at the legislative sessions, appeared designed to bolster confidence in China’s prospects and attract more foreign investment that had been driven away in recent years by China’s weak growth, its heavy-handed response to the Covid pandemic and stricter national security laws.
