China pitches itself as reliable partner amid Trump threats

China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng positioned his country as a champion of the rules-based international order Tuesday, in a speech at the World Economic Forum that indirectly attacked the Trump administration.

“The unilateral acts and trade deals of certain countries clearly violate the fundamental principles and rules of the [World Trade Organization], and severely impact the global economic and trade order,” said He, adding that the world shouldn’t slide back into “the law of the jungle, where the strong bully the weak.”

The remarks come amid unprecedented tensions between the European Union and the U.S. over Washington’s threats to annex Greenland by force. The escalation has already led President Donald Trump to threaten a group of European countries with new duties after they sent troops to the North Atlantic island.

Another country caught in the middle of U.S. President Trump’s tariff onslaught, Canada, has already moved closer into China’s orbit as a response. Ottawa, a longstanding U.S. ally, signed an agreement last week that would liberalize trade in agricultural goods and electric vehicles.

“Tariffs and trade war have no winners,” said He, praising the benefits of “free trade and economic globalization.” He said that the global trade system was facing its biggest challenge in years.

He called on countries to not turn their back on globalization and trade liberalization that had been instrumental in helping “many countries, including China” achieve “fast development.” The vice premier did acknowledge that globalization “wasn’t perfect” but said that it would be wrong for nations to retreat into “self-imposed isolation”.

He also addressed some common criticisms of China’s economic model, which generated a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025. In Europe, that enormous level of exports has stoked worries of China crushing European businesses across a range of industries, including the automotive sector.

The vice premier insisted that China wasn’t only seeking to export goods abroad, but also wanted to be the “world’s market.” But, he added: “When China wants to buy, other countries don’t want to sell.” The U.S. has imposed restrictions on the sale to China of cutting-edge microchips used in AI.

Beijing is trying to support domestic demand, putting it at the top of its economic agenda, He said. However, household consumption, as a share of GDP, has been on a downward trend for decades and was still less than 40 percent last year, compared to a global average of over 60 percent, according to World Bank data.

Many economists arguee that an increase in household income could both help China absorb its own manufacturing surplus, dampening exports, and create more demand for goods produced abroad — for example for European luxury items.

“We encourage businesses from around the world to seize the opportunities presented by our expanding domestic demand, provide more and better products and services, and further explore China’s consumer market,” said He. “China will open its door still wider to the world.”