International Relations Scholar: The U.S.’s tariff increase on China is caused by “post-colonialism” thinking | Worldview
China News Service, May 21: Recently, the United States announced that it will impose additional tariffs on Chinese products such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic cells. Among them, the tariff on electric vehicles will increase from the previous 25% to 100%.
What is the purpose of this move by the United States? What impact will it have on Sino-US bilateral relations and trade exchanges, as well as broader industrial transformation and upgrading, and global sustainable development?
In this regard, Zhou Linjie, a senior researcher at the European Peace and Development Center of the United Nations University for Peace, pointed out in an interview with China News Service that the United States’ move is intended to suppress the development of China’s new energy industry and use trade protectionism to try to balance the trade balance.
Zhou Linjie believes that electric vehicles are an important part of the new energy industry. “The United States hopes to suppress related industries in China through new tariff policies, thereby gaining comparative advantages and protecting the domestic market.”
"This is especially true for the Democratic Party in the United States, because some liberal politicians often flaunt themselves as pilots in promoting innovation and transforming society in a post-materialist world. Through the dysfunctional two-party system, we can get a glimpse of the internal affairs of the United States of chaos and complexity.”
China has responded by pointing out that while the United States expresses its willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in addressing climate change, it is hyping up the so-called "overcapacity" of China's new energy and threatening to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar products, etc. This approach is undoubtedly Contradictory.
Zhou Linjie believes that "dialogue and cooperation are the major trends in today's world, but for the United States, competition and hegemonism are the main colors. The United States is purely practicing realist politics."
Zhou Linjie said that in order to better understand the motivations and intentions behind the U.S. tariff increase policy, one should examine the history of the United States and the West. Its trade protectionist tendencies have long been traced, and its economic policies follow the British and American traditions of the imperialist period and pursue " A binary perspective of “black and white”.
Therefore, Zhou Linjie analyzed, “The United States makes decisions based on this kind of thinking. When faced with fierce competition from countries such as China, it will maintain its economic hegemony by suppressing competitors and ensure that its country is invincible in the international system. land."
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