Amid its trade dispute with the United States, China champions the rules-based trade system and wants more regional cooperation, said Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Hong Xiaoyong in an article published Wednesday.
In the article entitled "China: From humble student of world trade to staunch defender," Hong noted that China was welcomed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, to the applause of the U.S. and the Western world. Since then, China, like a humble student learning the trade rules, has integrated its own development into this system.
Today, China is a staunch defender of and a contributor to the global rules-based system. In contrast, the rule-maker is behaving more like a rule-breaker, breaching what it once cherished so dearly. It bears reminding that rules are made to be followed, not discarded when convenient, Hong said in his article carried on the local English-language newspaper The Straits Times.
In his opinion, the United States tries to paint itself as a victim of trade problems with China. It made unilateral demands of trade tariffs, which suddenly escalated threefold from 50 billion U.S. dollars to 150 billion U.S. dollars. This shows not only the country's arrogance towards China, but also its disdain of the global trade system.
Worldwide, there is a growing consensus that anti-globalization and protectionism only generate endless troubles, said the article.
Anti-globalization is not the solution to the problems caused by unfettered globalization, and protectionism is not the right medicine for the "illnesses" caused by free trade, Hong added.
China and Singapore are working together for the early conclusion of an upgraded bilateral free trade agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. They are also working on the early entry into force of an upgrade to the China-ASEAN free trade agreement and the building of the Asia-Pacific free trade area, the ambassador noted.
At the same time, China is ready to strive with the international community for open and win-win cooperation, and contribute to a better world with a new type of international relations and a better shared future for all, he concluded.
