Beijing accused the United States of hypocrisy on Thursday, in reaction to President Joe Biden’s charges that China is “xenophobic” and “cheating” on trade.
When asked about the statements, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded, “I would like to ask him: are you talking about China or the US itself?”
In a speech to union members on Wednesday, Biden called for a steel tariff increase on China, accusing it of cheating as he courted blue-collar voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“They aren’t competing; they are cheating. “They’re cheating, and we’ve seen the consequences here in America,” the 81-year-old Biden declared to cheers at the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh.
The Democrat stated that Chinese steel producers “do not need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government subsidizes them so heavily.”
Biden said he had asked the US Trade Representative to quadruple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was found to be engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
“They’re xenophobic,” he explained. “They have significant problems. “I’m not looking for a fight with China; I’m looking for competition—but fair competition.”
Beijing and Washington have fought in recent years over a variety of topics, including technology and trade, human rights, the self-ruled island of Taiwan, and the disputed South China Sea.
Relations have improved significantly since Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in San Francisco in November for talks that both sides deemed a success.
The two had a follow-up phone chat this month in which they disagreed about US trade curbs on technology and Taiwan, which Beijing claims.
They did, however, agree that two high-level US officials will soon travel to China: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited last week, and top diplomat Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Beijing soon.
The United States also stated this week that it will investigate China’s trade practices in shipbuilding, seafaring, and logistics.
China’s commerce ministry responded, claiming the investigation was “full of false accusations, misinterpreting normal trade and investment activities as harming US national security and corporate interests, and blaming China for its own industrial problems”.