U.S. "going further down wrong path" with tariff hikes: embassy

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy to the United States on Wednesday criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's administration's tariff hikes on an array of Chinese products, saying Washington is "going further down a wrong path."

A spokesperson for the embassy said in a statement that the Biden administration's hiking of tariffs on Chinese automobiles, lithium batteries, solar cells, critical minerals and semi-conductors is an "arbitrary way" of the Section 301 tariff review process.

"Instead of correcting its wrong practices, the United States is going further down a wrong path," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has drawn a clear conclusion that the U.S.'s Section 301 tariffs violate WTO rules and international law.

The U.S. move harms others without benefiting oneself. It will only significantly drive up the cost of imported goods, inflict more loss on American companies and consumers, and make the U.S. consumers pay even more, the spokesperson said.

As one of the founders of the WTO, the United States has not only failed to be a role model in complying with WTO rules, but taken the lead in breaching them, the spokesperson said, adding that by so doing, the United States can hardly embody the "fair competition" it champions, nor can it keep its credibility in the international community.

Over the past weeks and months, the United States, to secure its unipolar supremacy, has used trade issues as an instrument for political purposes, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the United States has frequently imposed unilateral sanctions, abused the Section 301 tariff review process, and waged a campaign against China's normal trade, economic and technological activities that borders on madness.

Taking unscrupulous actions against China does not prove the strength of the United States, but only reveals that the U.S. has lost self-confidence, the spokesperson said, adding that such actions cannot solve the U.S.'s own problems, but will further impede the normal functioning of global industrial and supply chains.

Those actions, the spokesperson said, will not stop China's development and rejuvenation, but will only spur the Chinese people to forge ahead with greater determination.

The latest move by the United States is typical unilateralism, political maneuvering and hegemonic bullying, the spokesperson said, adding that it runs counter to Biden's words of "not seeking to contain China's development" and "not seeking to decouple with China."

The move contradicts the spirit of mutual understandings between the two presidents and severely undermines the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation, the spokesperson said.

"We urge the U.S. side to earnestly abide by WTO rules, and immediately revoke the tariff increase. China will do whatever necessary to defend its own interests," the spokesperson said.