A couple of weeks after Donald Trump won the United States elections, when the threat of a global trade war was nothing more than a campaign slogan, China surprised by announcing that they would eliminate all tariffs for imported products from 43 countries in the Global South. The only requirement was that the beneficiaries, most of whom were in Africa, maintained diplomatic ties with the Asian giant. "The plan covers all countries that the United Nations considers least developed," read the official statement from the Chinese authorities.
In that final stretch of 2024, Beijing focused on expanding free trade agreements with African countries, inaugurating a mega port they had built in Peru, and completing a new railway project connecting with Central Asia. The Chinese continued to boost exports to their Southern partners while supporting the development of their economies with a zero-tariff policy and investments in vital infrastructure.
"China's actions are proof that another model of economic growth, political, and social development is possible," said former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in a speech. She had been appointed by Beijing to lead the New Development Bank of the BRICS, the bloc comprising five emerging economies (China, Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa) that together represent about a quarter of the global economy.
Chinese spokespersons often present the entity led by Rousseff, based in Shanghai, as a future alternative to the World Bank and the IMF. "Both China and the Global South need to send the same message to the world: it is possible to build a new globalization against protectionism that includes a relationship of mutual respect and reciprocal benefit," stated the Brazilian.
Amid the turmoil in the markets due to Trump's so-called "reciprocal tariffs," which have hit many corners of the Global South, especially in Asia, Chinese officials are constantly reminding that while Washington closes itself off under protectionism, their country has been eliminating tariffs for developing nations. "As The Economist accurately stated a few days ago: Trump's tariff war is creating opportunities to redraw the geopolitical map of Asia, and much of the world, in favor of China," noted economist Yang Yue, a member of the Chinese government's main advisory body.
In the world's second-largest economy, besides embracing the opportunities that Trump's self-destructive tariff war is offering to extend their influence, they are trying to shore up their domestic economy following the US president's recent threats: the Republican warned China on Monday that it will face an additional 50% tariff, which would raise the total tax to 104%, unless retaliatory levies are lifted.
"If China does not withdraw its 34% increase on its long-standing trade abuses by tomorrow, April 8, 2025, the United States will impose an additional 50% tariff starting April 9. Additionally, all talks with China on their requested meetings with us will be canceled," wrote the American on his platform, Truth Social.
On Tuesday morning, in response to Trump's latest warning, Beijing's response was clear: they will not yield to tariff threats. The Ministry of Commerce stated that China will not succumb to US "blackmail" and promised to take countermeasures. "The US threat to escalate tariffs doubles down on its mistakes, once again exposing its blackmail nature. China firmly rejects it. If the US persists in its stance, China will firmly respond with countermeasures to the end," the statement read.
The state-run Chinese agency Xinhua also published a harsh editorial accusing the US administration of "extortion." "The underlying logic of the United States is completely absurd: I can hit you at will, and you must not respond. Instead, you must surrender unconditionally. This is not diplomacy but direct coercion disguised as policy," emphasized the editorial.
The same stance was echoed in the afternoon by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian during a press conference in Beijing. "If the US ignores the interests of both countries and insists on a trade war, China will fight to the end," he said after Chinese markets, following Monday's plunge, rebounded slightly, and the People's Bank of China pledged "greater credit support if necessary to resolutely defend capital market stability."