Photo: Global Times

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has vowed to continue exerting pressure on China and demand China to implement the phase one trade agreement between China and the US, according to Reuters.  

Since US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the blame game has almost become a regular program for US officials when it comes to the phase one deal. The repeated use of the agreement as a weapon to pressure China shows that the Biden administration has no intention of repairing the bilateral economic and trade relations that have been severely damaged by the unreasonable and unilateral actions of the US.

By using the phase one deal to press on China, the US' real intention is to continue to deny its mistakes in the arbitrary trade war, and use rhetoric and trade hegemony to force China into making concessions. Yet, just as the trade war has proven to be a complete failure, the current plot of the US will also get completely counterproductive results.

Ironically, it was China's efforts to implement the trade agreement despite COVID-19 disruptions that has spared the struggling US economy, especially its agricultural sector. The US Agriculture Secretary's latest remarks represent a completely false accusation and fly in the face of reality.

In fact, despite the US' reckless trade war that goes against basic economic rules and the trend of globalization and its malicious crackdown, China has strived to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic and implemented the phase one trade agreement. China is also maintaining communication with the US and making every effort to work in the spirit of goodwill and sincerity to restore bilateral economic and trade relations.

When dealing with China-US economic and trade issues, China clearly stands on the side of economic laws, fully conforming to the trend of globalization, which serves the overall global economic situation. In contrast, the US is going against the trend of free trade and globalization. For geopolitical purposes, the US has been taking moves that undermine economic and trade cooperation and harm regional economic prosperity.

The devastation caused by the pandemic, global supply chain disorder, especially in Western countries such as the US, has sounded the alarm for protectionism and decoupling efforts. If the US continues to go further in the wrong direction, it will only create more trouble for its already struggling domestic economy.

As the world's two largest economies, the importance of China-US economic and trade relations to the recovery of the global economy after the pandemic is self-evident. The responsibility for today's China-US economic and trade tensions rests entirely with the US side. It is hoped that the US can stop sabotaging normal economic and trade cooperation, and take a more responsible attitude toward the global economy.