Beijing has hit back after the US vice-president, JD Vance, referred to “Chinese peasants” in an interview defending Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Speaking to Fox News last week, Vance asked: “What has the globalist economy gotten the United States of America? And the answer is, fundamentally, it’s based on two principles – incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us.
“To make it a little more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.”
He added: “That is not a recipe for economic prosperity, it is not a recipe for low prices, and it’s not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America.”
Lin Jian, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, was asked about the comments on Tuesday and said: “It’s both astonishing and lamentable to hear this vice-president make such ignorant and disrespectful remarks.”
The foreign ministry said: “Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China.”
Vance’s comments led to a backlash among Chinese internet users.
“We may be peasants, but we have the world’s best high-speed rail system, the most powerful logistics capabilities, and leading AI, autonomous driving, and drone technologies. Aren’t such peasants quite impressive?” a Weibo user posted, according to CNN.
China has said it will “fight to the end” if the US continues to escalate its trade war, after Trump threatened to add additional 50% tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing did not reverse its 34% reciprocal tariff on US goods.
The exchange came after Trump’s announcement last week of a 34% tariff on imports from China – in addition to a previous 20% levy.
“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s tariffs on China are the latest among a multitude of tariffs aimed at US trading partners across the globe. The tariffs have caused serious losses on stock markets around the world.
