By Zhong Sheng
Washington’s recent decision to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods further exposed its essence as a trade bully. It triggered anxiety among the international community that the global economy might be severely impacted by the tariffs.
According to Morgan Stanley analysis, if the US imposes 25% tariffs on $300 billion worth of imports from China, would likely be enough to sink global growth below 2.5 percent.
Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, believes that Washington’s strategy of using tariffs as a weapon will increase global trade barriers and reduce trade volume. It will also set a negative example, lead to vicious competition and eventually drag the global economy into a quagmire.
Certain people in the US have undermined multilateral trade rules, threatened the security of the global industrial chain and supply chain, triggered turbulence in international financial market, and dragged down international trade and world economic growth.
Their arbitrary practices are against the trend of economic globalization, contrary to the principle of market competition, and have significantly increased the risk of global recession.
As the world’s economic pattern is becoming increasingly intertwined, any attempt to decouple economies and create confrontation through protectionist and unilateral practices is impractical and is doomed to fail.
A tiny screw illustrates the abovementioned point very well. According to the New York Times, Apple Inc. recently tried to manufacture a batch of top-of-the-line computers in Texas but ended up struggling to find enough screws.
More and more insightful people are pointing out that the immoral, irresponsible and irrational behaviors of some Americans have seriously damaged market confidence and caused chaos in the international financial market.
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization have repeatedly warned that if the trade war continues to develop, it will exert greater impacts on the global economy.
At the recent G7 summit, leaders of France, Germany, the UK and other countries expressed deep concerns about the US provoking economic and trade frictions. European Council President Donald Tusk said escalating trade tensions between the US and other countries risk throwing the world into recession.
In today’s world, it is an irresistible historical trend that multilateralism and win-win cooperation will replace unilateralism and zero-sum game.
Some people in the US confronting this trend with outdated mentality not only harm the interests of both China and the US, but also undermine the common interests of all countries in the world and hurt the well-being of global people.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
