China vows to uphold stability as Trump reshapes world order

Beijing – China’s top diplomat presented the country as a force for stability, as US President Donald Trump shakes up the world economy with tariffs.

China “brought much needed stability to a changing and turbulent world”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at an annual press briefing in Beijing on Friday, vowing to defend global fairness and world peace.

The senior Communist Party official’s comments follow growing US-China tensions after Mr Trump doubled tariffs on China to 20 per cent this week. The move affects roughly US$1.5 trillion (S$2 trillion) in annual imports and adds to a broader global trade war that has also hit Canada and Mexico.

Mr Trump is also reshaping the world order through talks with Russia, creating friction with Europe and Nato. Western allies worry the Republican is turning away from Ukraine while making expansionist claims about owning Greenland, taking back Panama Canal and adding Canada as the 51st state.

Mr Wang pledged to uphold relations with Russia, which he said wouldn’t be swayed by any external events.

“The China-Russia friendship will not change,” he said. “It is a constant in a turbulent world, rather than a variable in geopolitical gains.”

Mr Wang reiterated China’s support for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine and didn’t directly answer a question on whether Beijing would send peacekeeping troops.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his partnership with Mr Putin in February on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, showing that Moscow’s potential warming with Washington wouldn’t hurt bilateral ties. China has publicly supported US-Russia talks on ending the war, though Beijing worries about becoming Washington’s main focus afterward.

On a question about China-Europe ties, Mr Wang reiterates that both sides have to step up communication as uncertainty increases.

China for years had courted Europe as a buffer with the US, giving Beijing a strategic partner. One of former President Joe Biden’s biggest diplomatic successes was drawing Brussels away from Beijing.

Now, Mr Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine is horrifying Europe and giving Beijing an opening. That would throw Mr Xi a lifeline, if it means Germany, France and other major markets are more welcoming to Chinese exports, as Beijing braces for ever higher US tariffs.

China has so far taken a cautious approach to Mr Trump as the economy remains strained by weak demand and a housing downturn. It responded to American tariffs with targeted actions and left room for talks, although frustration appears to be building.

In response to a question about Trump’s “America First” policy, Mr Wang said a “big country” shouldn’t put self-interest before principles or bully the weak. BLOOMBERG