For four months now, the world has been awash with news of United States of America (US) President Donald Trump's use of tariffs against countries claiming those countries have always “unfairly treated” and “cheated” the US, the development caused shock among economists, and panic among business executives and set off heated exchanges with not only the world’s second largest economy – China, but also US’s largest trading partners and allies like Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

As economists and corporate executives warned that Trump’s tariffs will harm global trade and risks causing global recession, Trump doubled down on his tariff card threat, saying “tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” and branded the day he announced his tariffs a “liberation day.” “This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history,” claimed the ‘tariffman’ as he announced imposing a now paused 10% universal tariff on all imported foreign goods in addition to “reciprocal tariffs.”

The most intriguing part is that while President Trump later announced pausing his tariffs for 90 days to allow negotiations, he maintained 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to announce retaliatory tariffs of 125% on US goods.

If critically analysed, the reasons Trump advanced for not pausing tariffs on Chinese goods as he did to other countries are simply political and arguably, overstating America’s position in the global market. Trump wrongly thought he would use tariffs to pressure Beijing into giving in to Washington’s bullying and hegemonic intentions and expand his protectionist and unilateral policies.

In Trump’s trade war against the ‘world’, he ignores the fact that in today’s global village, it is nearly impossible for any single country to embrace isolation policies and succeed without hurting itself. It’s not surprising that The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) branded it “The Dumbest Trade War” with its editorial writing; “Mr Trump sometimes sounds as if the US shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy, making everything at home. “This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr Trump may soon find out,”argued the WSJ editorial.

The other intriguing point is that as President Trump doubled down his trade war campaign against other countries in direct abuse of their legitimate rights and interests, which by all measures violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and is against the rules-based multilateral trading system, which disrupts the stability of the global economic order, in Beijing, President Xi Jinping was hosting representatives of international business community at the Great Hall of the People. 

At the meeting, President Xi commended members of the international business community for what he called “their long-standing commitment to cooperation with China.” He stressed that China’s twin miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability were partly due to the strong leadership of the CPC, the unity and hard work of the Chinese people, and “support and help from the international community, including the contribution of foreign businesses operating in China.”

As he underscored the role of foreign business in China’s social and economic growth and transformation, President Xi observed that “foreign businesses have thrived and generally enjoyed handsome returns, achieved win-win results, and forged profound friendship with the Chinese people.”

If critically analysed, while China is benefiting from foreign business, it is a win-win cooperation, as both sides are benefiting. With this, one can argue that while President Trump would like to make it appear like only China is benefiting from foreign business or international trade with China, the reality is that both sides involved in this trade benefit.

Indeed, President Xi told members of the international business community, “China has been a major contributor to and anchor of stability for global growth for many years, stressing that Beijing remains committed to the fundamental national policy of opening up to the world. “China’s door will only open wider. The policy of welcoming foreign investment has not changed and will not change.” Xi emphasised. 

For the Global South and Africa in particular, China’s win-win cooperation is not a new word. In December 2022, China announced a zero-tariff policy for imports from 33 African least-developed countries (LDCs). While this gesture benefited LDCs, it is a practical and good sign of China’s good intention and willingness to support the world to have a fair and balanced trade and build a community of the future and shared prosperity. 

In this regard, there is evidence that even without President Trump’s so-called maximum tariff pressure, in the spirit of building a community of shared future, China has been supporting efforts of fair and balanced trade and development. This is also evidenced by Beijing’s introduction of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) in 2021. 

President Xi mentioned to the more than 40 global leading and chief executive officers of foreign businesses, as well as representatives of business councils, that “having the world’s second largest consumer market and largest middle-income group, China offers great potential for investment and consumption.” He stressed that China’s commitment to high-quality development, the country has embarked on “accelerating green, digital and smart transformation, which, coupled with the country’s, sophisticated industrial ecosystem, provides the best testing ground for the latest outcomes of technological revolution and industrial upgrading.”

A critical analysis of China, especially in the last 40 years, shows that the country enjoys peace and stability, it has a stable power supply, labour and necessary technology and market for business, making it the ideal place for the world to do business from. As President Xi noted, “China enjoys long-standing political stability as well as law and order, and is widely recognised as one of the safest countries in the world."

All this shows that China offers a vast stage for business development, vast market prospects, stable policy outlook, and a secure environment, making it a favoured choice for foreign investment and business operations.” Therefore, one can safely argue that any country trying to present China as unfavourable for international business is driving a uniform narrative that is self-defeating.

While politicians in Washington may want a different story, as Xi noted to international business community leaders, “embracing China is embracing opportunities, believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future.”

As a citizen of the Global South, my unsolicited call on President Trump is that he should embrace globalisation, support existing World Trade Organisation rules, and rules-based multilateral trading systems, which the US contributed to establishing and committed to upholding. The world needs justice, not bullying others. In the 21st Century, there is no space for hegemony but a shared future for mankind.

About the author:

Dr. Allawi Ssemanda, a Senior Research Fellow at a Uganda based think tank-the Development Watch Centre. This articles was culled from the New Vision.