'Wishful thinking': Chinese state media claps back at Trump's plan to coerce 70 countries into isolating Beijing

Chinese state media has reacted to alleged efforts by the US to isolate Beijing by coercing its trading partners to limit their economic engagement, calling it "wishful thinking which is unlikely to be effective."

 

The response comes a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington planned to convince over 70 countries to prevent China from routing goods via their territories to circumvent US tariffs. The US also wants these trading partners to prevent Chinese firms from establishing operations there. The plan is devised by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as part of a broader effort to isolate China's economy. He has offered these countries no tariff in exchange, the Wall Street Journal reported.  

 

The US government has not officially confirmed or denied the report.

 

A report that appeared in Chinese state-backed Global Times, quoting local experts, said any such move would be ineffective as countries facing uncertainties of ever-shifting US policies would be forced to weigh between these short-term savings or the long-term benefits they would achieve by cooperating with China.  

 

The stance taken by the state media in China often reflects the official ones and often acts as the government mouthpiece.

 

"Rather than isolating China, the reported plan risks alienating the US itself, as other nations grow wary of Washington's unpredictability," Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times. Li added that the plan serves as US economic coercion and forces these countries to pick sides between China and the US. However, this strategy may backfire considering the repeated setbacks of the US "reciprocal tariff" approach.

 

Li said the US bid would not only disrupt the international trade order but also violate fundamental trade principles.

 

Another expert said even if the US succeeds in doing so, the outcome may not live up to Washington's expectations. Global Times said these countries now face a dilemma over whether these short-term savings outweigh the long-term benefits of continued cooperation with Beijing.

 

Meanwhile, the Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson has said that China will ignore the "meaningless tariff game" being played by the US. On questions regarding the US's '245 per cent' tariff threat, the spokesperson said the United States has instrumentalised and weaponized tariffs to an irrational level.

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