Equality and Mutual Benefit: the Only Solution to China-US Trade Disputes

2019年6月3日，驻澳大利亚大使成竞业在澳大利亚主流媒体《澳大利亚人报》发表署名文章《只有平等互利才能解决中美贸易分歧》。全文如下：

　　过去几个月，美国挑起的中美贸易摩擦引发各国对本国及全球经济前景的深切焦虑。

　　每次美方宣称准备对中国商品提高关税，国际主要经济体的金融市场就会接连出现动荡，诸多企业和民众利益受损。

One June 3,2019, The Australian published a signed article titled 'Equality and Mutual Benefit: the Only Solution to China-US Trade Disputes' by Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye. The full text is as follows:

Over the past several months, the trade disputes between China and the US, triggered by the latter, have made every country deeply anxious about the prospects of their own economy and that of the world.

Every time the US declared its intention to raise tariffs on Chinese goods, the financial markets of major economies would roil in succession, causing harm to many businesses and people.

　　美国的行径损人不利己。美国经济学家指出，美加征关税已经造成美消费者和进口商每月损失44亿美元。这是违背市场规律和国际贸易规则的必然结果。

　　近期多个美国行业协会发表声明，反对美政府对华加征关税，敦促美中经贸谈判尽快回到正常轨道。

　　美国的做法威胁世界经济。不少国际机构担忧，如果中美贸易争端延宕或升级，将扭曲全球产业链和供应链，给跨国投资和贸易带来风险，殃及世界经济增长。

What the US has done not only hurts the others but wounds itself as well.

Some US economists estimated tariff hikes had cost US companies and consumers $US4.4 billion ($6.3bn) a month. This is the inevitable consequence of wilful neglect of the rules of the market and of international trade.

A number of US industrial associations issued statements recently, railing against the US government raising tariffs on China and urging it to get the trade talks back on the right track as soon as possible.

What the US is doing also puts the global economy at risk. Many international institutions worry that if this bilateral dispute lingers on or escalates the global industrial and supply chains may tumble, cross-border investment and trade may suffer and world economic growth may dwindle.

　　经合组织发布的最新世界经济展望报告认为，中美贸易争端激化可能导致2021年至2022年全球GDP损失0.7%，量化为近6000亿美元。

　　世界贸易组织已将2019年全球贸易增长从3.7%调低至2.6%，为近三年来最低。

　　如果世界经济增长放缓，全球贸易萎缩，各国经济发展都将受到连累。

The latest OECD economic outlook indicates that escalating China-US trade friction could cause a 0.7 per cent loss in global GDP from 2021 to 2022, which is nearly $US600bn.

The WTO has slashed global trade growth forecast for this year from 3.7 per cent to 2.6 per cent, the lowest for three years.

No economy could escape if such a slowdown in economic growth and trade takes place worldwide.

　　作为世界前两大经济体，中美经贸关系不仅关乎两国，更关乎全球发展。正是从中美两国和世界各国利益出发，中方始终抱着极大诚意和善意，就解决贸易分歧与美方开展多轮磋商。

　　令人遗憾的是，美方在谈判进程中，极限施压，一意孤行，多次采取单边霸凌行动，还出尔反尔，并试图将谈判陷入僵局的责任诿过于中方。

　　美方绕开世界贸易组织争端解决机制，根据美国国内法挑起国际贸易摩擦的做法，遭到国际社会的批评。

Trade between the world's two biggest economies is not only important for China and the US but it is also influential for all other economies around the world.

Bearing that in mind, China joined the trade talks with utmost sincerity and good will, aiming to resolve the differences with the US through proper negotiations.

Regrettably, the US resorted to maximum pressure during previous rounds of talks, insisted on staging a trade war unilaterally and indulged in bullying practices.

In addition, the US side has been flip-flopping all along at the negotiation table, and kept slinging mud at China with factdistorting statements in the deadlock of the negotiations, in a bid to cover up its own faults.

The US has been widely criticised by the international community for provoking trade friction with China and imposing solutions by invoking the US domestic laws and bypassing the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.