Building a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future

RECENTLY, the US Government, disregarding unanimous opposition from the international community, announced its decision to impose so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on all trading partners including China and Sri Lanka. This move was followed by repeated policy reversals, creating significant chaos and uncertainty on a global scale. Moreover, this uncertainty continues to accumulate, potentially causing broader turmoil and even triggering a global economic recession.

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By recklessly imposing tariffs on other countries, the US defies the fundamental laws of economics and market principles, disregards the balanced outcomes achieved through multilateral trade negotiations, ignores the fact that the US has long benefited substantially from international trade, and weaponises tariffs to exert maximum pressure for selfish interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.

Such actions not only directly infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of global trade partners, but also pose unpredictable and severe consequences for the US economy itself. Currently, the US stock market is plunging, Treasury bonds are being sold off, and inflationary pressures are mounting, living costs and financial strain on ordinary Americans are increasing. Voices of opposition within the US against the excessive use of tariffs are growing louder.

As a matter of fact, the US and other Western developed countries have been the architects and long-time leaders of the global free trade system established after World War II. People in Global South countries, including China and Sri Lanka, have only been able to earn meagre foreign exchange earnings by working really hard to provide high-quality, low-priced commodities to developed countries like the US. Meanwhile, the US, by occupying the high end of the industrial chain, has earned substantial profits by exporting services, high-tech products and equipment. What's more, many products manufactured by developing countries like China and Sri Lanka and exported to developed countries are essentially products of Western companies.