China sends a stern video message to Trump: We won’t ‘kneel down’

By David Goldman, CNN

(CNN) — In a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s trade war, China’s Foreign Ministry posted to social media a striking video that calls on the international community to stand up to America’s “bully” leader.

“Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst – it only deepens the crisis,” China said in its video, narrated in English and subtitled in Chinese. “History has proven compromise won’t earn you mercy – kneeling only invites more bullying. China won’t kneel down.”

The video narrates a history lesson of what China considers American economic aggression, forcing companies like Toshiba and Alstom into breakup, financial crisis and bankruptcy and sending Japan’s economy into “decades of anemic growth.”

By contrast, China portrayed itself as a free-trade haven with which other countries can safety invest and partner.

“China will stand firm, no matter how hard the wind blows,” China said in the video. “Someone has to step forward, torch in hand to shatter the fog and illuminate the path ahead.”

The sweeping and dramatic rhetoric doubled as a stern message to the Trump administration after its historic trade war escalation as well as a call to action for other countries. China in the video called on every nation to “stand tall” to “break through the walls of hegemony.”

The video didn’t specifically mention the 145% tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on Chinese imports – or the 125% retaliatory tariffs China has, in turn, placed on American goods. But China published the video across social media in a moment of apparent willingness to bend from the Trump administration.

Trump has recently said he expects the tariff on Chinese gods to come down, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as recently as Tuesday called the extremely high tariffs “unsustainable.” But Trump also said China would need to come up with a strong offer, and though he has said the two nations are in constant communication, China has repeatedly denied the countries are in any kind of active trade negotiation.

Meanwhile, trade talks with America appear to be in full swing for a large handful of other nations. Bessent said he is in active discussions with 17 other countries during a 90-day window in which the Trump administration paused extraordinarily high “reciprocal tariffs” as high as 50% on dozens of countries.

China urged other nations to stand firm – and to not pick sides with the United States over China.

“We know standing up for ourselves keeps the possibility of cooperation alive,” the video said. “China won’t back down so the voices of the weak will be heard, bullying will be stopped and justice will not disappear from the world.”

The video’s message: America is untrustworthy.

In the video, China called the United States “a paper tiger.” It noted that American imports and exports make up less than a fifth of global trade, and the nation “does not represent the entire world.”

“When the rest of the world stands together in solidarity, the US is just a small, stranded boat,” China said in the video. “Make no mistake, the US will keep flip-flopping and playing hardball.”

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