China Continues to Protest U.S. Trade Restrictions Over 'Forced Labor' Pretext

The Chinese government has continued to strongly protest against U.S. regulatory measures that would impose additional tariffs on 60 economic zones, including China and South Korea, citing forced labor as the reason.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yonhap News Agency

According to local media such as Xinhua News Agency, He Yungqian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, stated at a press conference on the 4th (local time), "China's stance on the U.S. Section 301 investigation remains unchanged," and added, "China opposes all forms of unilateral restrictive measures, including a series of trade restrictions imposed on China under the pretext of forced labor."

Spokesperson He said, "We have repeatedly made our stern position clear on this issue," and urged, "We call on the United States to face China, move forward together, and jointly maintain the stability of U.S.-China economic and trade relations."

The previous day, Mao Ning, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also said at a regular briefing, "There is no so-called forced labor in China, and we oppose any political manipulation using this as an excuse."

She continued, "China opposes all forms of unilateral tariff measures," and added, "Tariff wars and trade wars benefit neither side." She further emphasized, "Economic and trade issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit."

Previously, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced plans to impose additional tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on 60 economic zones that failed to prevent the trade of products produced with forced labor.

Tariffs of 12.5% will be applied to 54 economic zones, including South Korea, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, and Vietnam, while a 10% tariff was proposed for six economic zones, including the European Union (EU), Canada, and Mexico.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.