China is reaching out to other nations as the U.S. layers on more tariffs in what appears to be an attempt to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat, the Associated Press reports. Days into the effort, it’s meeting only partial success with many countries unwilling to ally with the main target of President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Facing the cratering of global markets, Trump on Wednesday backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, saying countries were lining up to negotiate more favorable conditions.
China has refused to seek talks, saying it would “fight to the end” in a tariff war, prompting Trump to further jack up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. China has retaliated with tariffs on U.S. goods of 84%, which took effect Thursday.
Trump’s move was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to a showdown between the U.S. and China.
Despite their unhappiness with Washington, not all countries are interested in linking up with China, especially those with a history of disputes with Beijing.
It’s not clear what further steps China will take, but the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Lin Jian said China “will not sit idly by and let the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people be deprived of, nor will we allow the international trade rules and multilateral trading system to be undermined.” Nontariff options include bans on American movies, American law firms and other trade in services.
