Foreign minister accuses U.S. of bullying China with sanctions

Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the United States on Wednesday of repeatedly imposing unilateral sanctions to suppress China, vowing such bullying and hegemonic behaviors would be crushed by wheels of history.

His comments came as the U.S. slapped major new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic cells and others on Tuesday.

For some time, the U.S. has launched the Section 301 investigation targeting Chinese maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. It has also imposed sanctions on nearly 60 Chinese entities and revoked certain licenses for exports to Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Wang said the U.S. frequently imposing unilateral sanctions, abusing Section 301 investigation to suppress China's normal trade and economic activities are the most typical bullying behaviors in the world.

It demonstrates that some people in the U.S. have reached a level of irrationality in order to uphold U.S. unipolar hegemony, he added.

Wang said Washington resorting to all means to unscrupulously suppress China does not prove its strength but rather exposes a lack of confidence.

It cannot solve the U.S.' own existing problems but will further disrupt the normal operation of the international production and supply chains, he added.

Instead of hindering China's development and rejuvenation, the foreign minister said such moves would inspire the 1.4 billion Chinese people to work even harder.

The World Trade Organization has clearly concluded that the U.S. Section 301 tariffs are violations of its rules and international law.

Wang said International businessmen with basic common sense hold the view that the U.S. actions harm others without benefiting the U.S. itself.

He slammed the U.S., as one of the founding members of the WTO, for not only refusing to set a good example but also leading in violating rules.

Instead of righting wrongs, the U.S. reinforces them, he added.

Wang questioned the U.S.: "How can the U.S. explain the fair competition it advocates? How can it gain trust from the international community?"

Wang reiterated that unilateral acts and protectionism go against the trend of the times. At this critical moment of global economic recovery, he said the international community should warn the U.S. not to create new troubles for the world anymore.