 "‘US not getting ripped off... living beyond its means': China’s state media says Trump is ‘whining’")
China has sharply rebuked the US, accusing it of playing the victim in the ongoing trade dispute and urging Washington to “stop whining” after having “taken a free ride on the globalisation train.”
The comments came as Beijing reported stronger-than-expected economic growth, even as the country braces for the impact of tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump.
While last week’s escalation in tit-for-tat tariff hikes appears to have stalled, tensions between the world’s two largest economies remain high, with Beijing also reiterating its warning that it was “not afraid to fight.”
According to The Guardian report, China Daily — the ruling Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) English-language mouthpiece — published a sharply worded editorial on Tuesday evening, rejecting Trump’s repeated claims that the US had been “ripped off” by China.
The state-run outlet described the allegations as misleading rhetoric aimed at deceiving the American public, calling them “hoodwinking.”
“The US is not getting ripped off by anybody,” The Guardian quoted the editorial as saying.
“The problem is the US has been living beyond its means for decades. It consumes more than it produces. It has outsourced its manufacturing and borrowed money in order to have a higher standard of living than it’s entitled to based on its productivity. Rather than being ‘cheated’, the US has been taking a free ride on the globalisation train," the editorial added.
“The US should stop whining about itself being a victim in global trade and put an end to its capricious and destructive behaviour,” it further added.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe Chinese Communist Party has refused to yield to Trump’s demands for new trade talks.
On Wednesday, Beijing announced a leadership change in its trade team, appointing Li Chenggang as the new international trade negotiator and vice commerce minister, replacing veteran Wang Shouwen. No official reason was given, but the move comes amid a broader government reshuffle, reported The Guardian.
Responding to the ongoing stalemate, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that “the ball is in China’s court.”
“China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,” Leavitt was quoted as saying in a statement.
“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” she added.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry hit back, saying the US started the trade war and Beijing had been clear that it did not want to fight, but also was not afraid to.
“If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” The Guardian quoted Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.
Analysts and officials warn that the trade war is likely to hit both economies hard, with China already facing challenges in its post-pandemic recovery, including sluggish consumer spending and high youth unemployment.
Despite those headwinds, Beijing on Wednesday reported stronger-than-expected economic data, largely fueled by exporters rushing to ship goods to the US ahead of looming tariffs.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the economy grew by 5.4% in the first quarter, surpassing analysts’ forecasts.
Speaking to The Guardian, Sheng Laiyun, a senior official at the statistics bureau, however warned that the US tariffs “will put certain pressures on our country’s foreign trade and economy”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a tour of Asian nations, a trip that, although planned before the tariff war, has served to boost Beijing’s public and private efforts to strengthen trading relationships with other countries.
“China would be willing to partner with Malaysia and other Asean countries, following the trend of peace and the development of history, fend off the undercurrent of geopolitics and tribalism, break the unilateralism and protectionism, and create high-level strategic alliance between China and Malaysia that leads to a close community of common destiny,” Xi said in an editorial published ahead of his arrival in Malaysia on Wednesday.
While tariffs have paused at 145% on Chinese imports to the US and 125% on US goods to China, both governments are escalating the trade war through other means.
Beijing has reportedly ordered airlines to halt purchases of US aircraft parts, including from Boeing, and is exploring support for carriers leasing Boeing jets. Around 10 Boeing 737 Max jets are set for delivery to Chinese airlines, but only those cleared before reciprocal tariffs take effect may be allowed in, reported Bloomberg.
In a further move, Hong Kong Post announced it will stop accepting US-bound packages, citing “unreasonable and bullying acts” by the US, though document-only mail remains unaffected. Hong Kong is covered by mainland China’s tariffs but has not imposed its own.
Meanwhile, Trump has launched inquiries into potential new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and critical minerals — areas that would hit key US trading partners.
China, which dominates rare-earth supply chains, has already imposed export controls on several such elements.
With inputs from agencies
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