This artificial disruption of international trade order has sparked strong unease in the international community. Using tariffs as a weapon for extreme pressure and self-serving gains is a typical act of protectionism, unilateralism, and economic bullying, drawing widespread condemnation and opposition from countries around the world. 

       The U.S. claim of "reciprocal tariffs" is completely unfounded. Not only is the U.S. the biggest beneficiary of the global trade system, but it also holds an absolute advantage in the services trade sector. Deliberately ignoring this fact, the U.S. government abuses tariffs under the pretext of "trade deficits," artificially severing established global supply and industrial chains, undermining market-oriented free trade rules, and distorting global resource allocation. This approach is essentially an imposition of power politics in the economic and trade arena, sacrificing the legitimate interests of other nations to serve U.S. hegemony and its pursuit of "America First" and "American privilege." 

       The U.S. abuse of tariffs will inevitably backfire. The U.S. government claims that tariffs protect American manufacturing and encourage its revival, but history and reality have repeatedly proven that protectionism does nothing to improve its own economy or "make itself great again." Instead, it severely damages the global trade and investment system and could even trigger a worldwide economic or financial crisis, ultimately harming both others and itself. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of the 1930s led to a trade war and worsened the Great Depression. In 2018, the U.S. launched a tariff war against China, yet its trade deficit only grew. A Yale University study predicts that a broad 20% U.S. tariff could cost the average American household up to $4,200 per year, raising the Consumer Price Index by 2.1% to 2.6%. 

       China Brings Stability to Turbulent Global Trade. As a responsible major country, China continues to advance high-level opening-up, implementing liberalized and facilitated trade and investment policies to share development opportunities with the world and achieve mutual benefits. China has announced zero-tariff treatment for 100% of products from all least-developed countries that have diplomatic ties with China and has successfully held six editions of the China International Import Expo (CIIE). In 2024, China's GDP reached 134.9 trillion yuan (approx. $18.9 trillion), growing by 5%—among the fastest rates of major economies. In the first quarter of this year, GDP grew by 5.4%. International organizations such as the OECD and many Wall Street financial institutions have raised their growth forecasts for China, expressing confidence in its capital markets and viewing China's "certainty" as a safe haven against the U.S.'s "uncertainty." 

       China does not want a tariff war, but it does not fear one. China’s economy has a solid foundation, multiple advantages, strong resilience, and vast potential. The long-term positive fundamentals and trend of high-quality development remain unchanged. China is fully confident, capable, and resilient enough to withstand a tariff or trade war. China’s countermeasures against U.S. bullying are not only to safeguard its own legitimate rights but also to uphold international rules and order, ensuring global fairness and justice and the common interests of all nations. 

       China is willing to work with the Global South, including Suriname, to uphold true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, safeguard the UN-centered international system, and defend the WTO-centered multilateral trading regime, ensuring international fairness and justice and the shared interests of all parties.

(Author: H.E. LIN Ji, Chinese Ambassador to Suriname)