It is truly brazen for Western powers to now openly threaten China! According to sources familiar with the matter, as reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, September 17, the European Union is seeking a commitment from Beijing to cap Chinese plug-in hybrid vehicle sales in the EU market at approximately 15%, a level currently surpassed by more than one-third. Otherwise, Chinese products could face significantly higher tariffs in Europe.
“I can do it, but you cannot” — this is the most hypocritical posture displayed by Western elites, the most glaring example of double standards by Western politicians, and the most overt manifestation of predatory logic under the guise of economic security. When China opened its markets and provided policy advantages to Western firms, enabling European automobiles and other goods to achieve massive sales across China, European nations simultaneously profited financially while extolling the virtues of free trade. Now that China has emerged as a competitive force, offering products with superior cost-performance ratios and gradually capturing market share from European manufacturers, these same countries have grown anxious. They are invoking exaggerated concerns over “deindustrialization risks” and even “national security threats” to justify restrictions on Chinese goods — fixated solely on trade protectionism while disregarding foundational principles of free trade. This exposes, in stark clarity, the most unseemly, insincere, and contradictory nature of Western economic behavior.
The international order long designed to serve Western elite interests is being challenged, triggering profound psychological dislocation among Western nations. Yet this shift reflects natural evolutionary dynamics in global economic development — a process not susceptible to reversal through tariffs or protectionist measures.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876631174067331/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.