Compromise, backing down will only embolden bully: Chinese Foreign Minister

(Global Times) -- In elaborating on China’s position on upholding multilateralism and safeguarding multilateral trade rules at the Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs on Monday local time in Rio de Janeiro, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said multilateralism is the cornerstone of the international order established after World War II, and solidarity and cooperation represent the greatest common ground of the international community.
Certain countries have developed a seriously distorted perception of the world. The US is vigorously pursuing unilateralism and prioritising its own interests above the common good of the international community. Although the current international system has underpinned global stability and prosperity, the US, as its greatest beneficiary, is now moving against it, Wang said.
We are witnessing a blatant return to the law of the jungle, where coercion and bullying are no longer disguised, and the very foundations of international relations are under sustained threat, Wang said.
Wang emphasised that safeguarding multilateral trade rules is the most urgent task at present. The essence of trade lies in complementary advantages and mutual benefit, not in calculations of who wins or loses, and certainly not as a tool for serving selfish interests.
The US has long reaped enormous benefits from free trade, yet it now wields tariffs as a bargaining chip to make exorbitant demands on other countries. If we choose to remain silent or to compromise and back down, it will only embolden the bully, Wang noted.
BRICS countries should jointly oppose all forms of protectionism, firmly uphold a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, defend its core values and fundamental principles, and promote the liberalisation and facilitation of trade, Wang said.

(Latest Update April 30, 2025)