China's commitment to opening up shows its willingness to defend globalization

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China's State Council Information Office held a press conference on Tuesday to explain the newly released white paper on Beijing-Washington trade frictions. Senior officials from six government departments clarified facts, demonstrated Chinese policies and pointed out problems in Sino-US trade ties amid escalating trade tensions.

While the US is tilting toward trade protectionism, China is embracing a more open trade policy. The country's commitments to reform and opening up were not only emphasized in Monday's white paper but also reiterated at Tuesday's press conference.

China International Trade Representative Fu Ziying stressed that China supports a multilateral trading system and will continue its structural reforms.

Ding Yifan, a senior fellow at the Institute of World Development under the Development Research Center of the State Council, noted that China, by opening its market to foreign investments, is willing to defend globalization.

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He emphasized that the opening-up policy has been playing a pivotal role in China's industrialization and modernization.

At the press conference, the officials were asked about China's capability of handling backlash from the US. Lian Weiliang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, responded that the impact of US tariffs on China is manageable.

Ding holds a positive attitude toward China's exportation. Compared to the US, China has a bigger market and has alternative trading partners from the US, and thus is able to withstand Donald Trump's unilateral trade practices, according to Ding.

He added that China's exports to countries along the Belt and Road route are growing rapidly – accounting for one-third of China's total export last year, which Ding argued will offset the impacts of US tariffs.

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It's worth noting that China is not the only target of US trade protectionism. The White House didn't spare its allies, including Canada, Japan, and the EU, from the trade war. Is Trump shifting his "America First" policy to "America Only"? Ding believed that Trump is wrong on international trade theory, adding that the US president should be aware that a trade surplus doesn't mean losses.

This was echoed by Fu, who argued that profits gained by American companies from Sino-US cooperation have far exceeded those by their Chinese counterparts.

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