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The whole world has been on tenterhooks in recent weeks as Washington and Beijing teeter on the brink of a trade war. The tit-for-tat spat has so heated up that the Boao Forum for Asia, which is in full swing in south China's Hainan, has put it high on the agenda. At a time when Donald Trump is ceding US moral authority by reneging on the country’s commitments, China should take a leading role in the multilateral system refined over the decades.
In a rare move since the trade row started, Donald Trump hailed his personal friendship with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Twitter on Sunday, just three days after he threatened 100 billion US dollars of additional tariffs on Chinese imports. It seems we can barely catch up with the US president's pace in this intensive, prolonged trade conflict between the world's two largest economies.
He made the remarks as fears of a trade war have intensified day by day since early last month when he rolled out tariffs on steel and aluminum. The past weeks have seen stock markets worldwide rattled by the fickle leader’s decisions.
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks to reporters on board Airforce One as he travels back to Washington, D.C. on April 5, 2018. /VCG Photo
Like a willful child, Trump is just nagging in all his threats of tariffs on various kinds of Chinese goods. Given an escalation in the strife and Beijing's tough posture that it "will fight to the end," Trump and his fellow protectionists have now softened their tone.
But China shouldn’t take it lightly. If it tries to keep up with him, it'll likely stumble. On his Sunday morning Twitter post, besides touting his friendship with Xi, he also said, "China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property." It appears that he takes it for granted that the two sides will take a step back to avert a trade war. His position remains opaque.
Beijing is supposed to remain sober-minded and cling to our principles in the face of Trump's unreadable attitude, as he has already damaged the multilateralism that the rest of the international community has tried so hard to uphold. So far, his tariff moves have weakened the legitimacy of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the meaning behind its existence, according to Sun Chenghao, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
Trump's trade sanctions are a violation of WTO rules but he attempts to justify his behavior in the name of "national security." "Once he is successful in levying tariffs citing the 'national security' reason, other countries will likely do the same," Sun added. Once it becomes rife, the significance of the WTO and other international economic agencies alike will be severely dented.
The conference site of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference, in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, on April 7, 2018. /VCG Photo
It's ironic that the Trump administration is upending the very global trading system the US built. Imagine what the world would become if its stakeholders flout the established rules one by one.
In his tariff move, Trump is opening a Pandora's box, paving the way for other countries to clamor for "better and fairer trade deals" that benefit themselves. By then, the integrity of the international economic order will be lost.
His unilateralist leanings in trade follow his "doctrine of retreat" for the entirety of last year as he pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord, the TPP, and UNESCO. He not only puts Beijing-Washington ties at risk but also jeopardizes transatlantic relations. His call for Mexico border wall construction has also alienated the US from its southern neighbors. Moreover, he has infuriated Middle Eastern nations with the decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. All in all, he has made himself an unwelcome figure in large parts of the world.
The president of the United States, which was founded on the land of the free, has gradually abdicated the core American values of idealism, freedom and globalization. It’s as if Trump is all too eager to relinquish his role as the leader of the liberal world.
As a rising powerhouse, China can step in to fill in the vacated moral leadership of multilateralism. Trump's punitive tariffs will not beat China, but give it more mettle to play a leading role in preventing the interconnected world from becoming lonely islands.
(CGTN)
