Editorial | Strategy of China’s Politburo sends right message to US in trade war
By rejecting bullying without closing door to negotiations, Beijing remains resolute on growth target and determination to protect economy
China has shifted to a trade war footing, vowing to protect individuals and businesses as US President Donald Trump’s global tariff policy begins to bite.
The strategy emerged following a meeting on Friday of the decision-making Politburo, headed by President Xi Jinping, which typically sets the tone for the country’s economic work in the second quarter.
Beijing has announced a series of measures under the strategy that fuel confidence among officials of reaching this year’s economic growth target of about 5 per cent.
This reflects a determination to protect workers and employers from an expected tariff-driven economic slowdown, even as the International Monetary Fund cuts its forecast for China’s growth from 4.6 per cent to 4 per cent.
“We still have ample policy reserves and plenty of policy space,” Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning body, told a press conference.
The strategy and tactics are a rejection of a bullying, blunt-force unilateral United States approach to trade, without closing the door to dialogue and negotiations. They send the right message.