Speaking at an international forum in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Qiang blamed tariffs for dealing a „severe blow“ to the world economy.
Speaking at an international forum in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang blamed tariffs – implicitly President Donald Trump’s tariffs – for dealing a “severe blow” to the world economy.
Many of the attendees were at least as concerned about China’s predatory trade practices, including a tidal wave of exports that boosted China’s trade surplus to over a trillion dollars.
“Starting from the beginning of this year, we’ve seen the stick of tariffs being wielded around the world with growing restrictive measures on the economy and trade, which have dealt a severe blow to the global economy,” Li said on Tuesday.
“As the situation has unfolded, the damaging consequences of tariffs hurting both others and oneself have become increasingly evident, and calls from all sides to uphold free trade have grown ever stronger,” he insisted.
President Trump imposed heavy tariffs on China after he returned to office this year, and those tariffs led to a significant decline in Chinese exports to the United States. Chinese customs officials reported shipments to the U.S. declined by 28.6 percent year-on-year in November, the eighth straight month of double-digit declines. The overall net decrease in China’s export volume to the U.S. for 2025 is about 19 percent.
However, China’s exports to the rest of the world skyrocketed this year, growing by 5.
