Commerce ministry slams unilateralism at close of international trade meeting

China has reaffirmed its firm commitment to the multilateral trading system and called for solidarity among G20 members following the recently concluded G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in the United States, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday.

The meeting, held from Sept 30 to Oct 1 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, saw members reach a joint statement on opposing the weaponization of food. However, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce noted the G20 meeting failed to produce outcome documents on highly debated topics, including addressing overcapacity, eliminating forced labor and adjusting the most-favored-nation principle.

Leading the Chinese delegation, Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative and vice-minister of commerce, underscored Beijing's firm stance. Stressing the importance of the vision for a global community with a shared future for humanity, Li urged G20 members to build international consensus and improve global governance.

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Facing the continuous impact of unilateralism, Li called for supporting the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and jointly safeguarding the most-favored-nation principle to inject stability and predictability into global trade.

Tao Qizhi, a professor at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' Institute of Chinese Financial Studies in Chengdu, said the multilateral trading system is the cornerstone of global economic and trade stability.

"Only when all parties, including China and the US, uphold WTO-centered rules can they inject predictability and lasting momentum into the world economy," Tao said, adding that jointly maintaining open and fair trade rules is essential for achieving mutual benefit and long-term stability.

Echoing this stance, a ministry spokesperson said the vast majority of members stressed during discussions that the most-favored-nation principle remains paramount to global trade, and any attempt to change it would severely damage the system's foundation. Consequently, the US did not propose an outcome document on this topic.

On the highly controversial issues of industrial capacity and forced labor, Li said that Beijing firmly opposes unilateralism and protectionism pursued in the name of these topics.

He stressed the need for a comprehensive, objective and dynamic analysis of industrial capacity from a global perspective, advocating for cooperation rather than creating confrontation.

Bob Savic, head of international trade at the Global Policy Institute in London, said simply attributing a country's production advantages to "overcapacity" is "neither honest nor responsible".

Western countries' plans to impose tariffs and restrictions on Chinese imports under the pretext of overcapacity are not merely a commercial decision, but rather a powerful industrial policy tool aimed at protecting domestic producers, Savic said.

Elaborating on the lack of consensus on these issues, the ministry spokesperson pointed out that many G20 members are currently subject to Section 301 tariffs related to forced labor and are targets of Section 301 investigations regarding overcapacity.

Due to divergent opinions among the majority of members, the US push to issue joint statements on these issues failed, the ministry spokesperson said, adding that attempting to impose domestic political agendas onto multilateral platforms only creates unnecessary division.

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By weaponizing these topics to serve its own protectionist goals, the US inevitably faced strong pushback from the broader international community, the ministry spokesperson added, noting that Washington later released a separate statement on forced labor with two other countries outside the G20 framework.

Regarding the consensus reached on food security, Li highlighted China's active contributions to global agricultural stability and urged G20 members to lower trade barriers to maintain stable and smooth food production and supply chains.

On labor, Li emphasized China's people-centered development philosophy and its high regard for protecting workers' rights and interests, calling on all parties to tap trade potential and create more high-quality jobs.

Contact the writers at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn