The Word of Words, and Commerce, between Washington and Beijing gave a new turn on Thursday when a Chinese diplomat declared that their compatriots “do not go back”, sharing a video of Mao Zedong condemning the United States to underline their point.
China, the second largest economy in the world and one of the largest commercial partners in the United States, has matched President Donald Trump’s rate for the rate in recent days. His last levies on the assets of the United States entered into force on Thursday, totaling 84%.
As other countries rush to offer Trump concessions in exchange for tariff reductions, China’s most combative approach has attracted the anger of the president. On Wednesday, citing China’s “lack of respect” for global markets, Trump raised US tariffs on Chinese products to 125%, even when he announced a 90 -day break on the highest rates for all other US commercial partners.
China responded on Thursday that although it does not want to fight a commercial war, it also does not move away from one.
“We are Chinese. We are not afraid of provocations. We do not go back,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday in a publication about X.
The post also included MAO Zedong Archive images, who founded the Popular Republic of China, speaking in 1953 when the United States and China were on opposite sides of the Korean War.
“As for how long the war should last, I think we should not decide that,” says Mao, who led China for more than a quarter of a century until his death in 1976.
“In the past, it was decided by Truman. In the future, Eisenhower will decide, or who is the president of the United States. In other words, they can fight for all the time they want, until China’s complete victory,” he continues in the video, which is subtitled in Chinese and English.
In another apparent reference to Trump’s tariffs, Mao also shared an illustration of a “making the United States again”, which are manufactured in countries such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, with a “made in China” label and is above a price of $ 50 crossed and replaced with $ 77.
A hashtag about the Mao Zedong Post was trend on Thursday in Weibo, a popular Chinese social networks platform.
“We should not hold on to any illusion that the United States is easy with China,” a user wrote. “Let Trump make the call, for a long time they want to fight, we will fight.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce did not say if it would further increase tariffs on US assets in response to Trump’s last increase. The door to the conversations “is always open,” said a spokesman on Thursday: “But any dialogue must be based on mutual respect and carry out on equal terms.”
Underlying such comments is China’s exploitation story by Western nations, whose memories remain scoring even when China has taken advantage of globalization to become the world’s largest commercial nation in goods.
Although American and Chinese tariffs are already at “commercial professionals”, it is unlikely that Trump’s calls to negotiate work with China, said Rick Waters, a former diplomat of the State Department who is now the director of Carnegie China based in Singapore.
“The Chinese are proud. They have a humiliation history at the hands of foreign powers,” he said. “And I think that type of tactics play in their defensive instincts.”
The Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, an old British colony whose 1997 return to the Chinese domain marked the end of what is known in China as a “century of humiliation,” said Trump’s actions “will not make the United States great again, they will only make the United States a barbarian of the 21st century.”
“Those who try to build the world with tariffs and expect countries to call and admit defeat should never have a call from China,” he said.
Waters said that while he believes that Trump is “sincere in a desire to explore some kind of treatment with the Chinese,” such agreement may be far.
“I think that until the two parties feel they have to come to the table, they will let the others be guided in their juices,” he said.
