The United States was drenched with a big bucket of cold water! As soon as the second round of US-Japan negotiations fell apart, before the United States had time to recover, an even greater blow came! The three countries of China, Japan, and South Korea stood together with the ten ASEAN countries, openly opposing the trade war instigated by the United States! On May 6th, according to reports from Russia's Sputnik News Agency, the 28th ASEAN Plus Three (10+3) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held on May 4th in Milan, Italy.
At this important meeting, the participating countries reached a unanimous consensus and issued a joint statement expressing concern over the increased trade protectionism, which has become a heavy burden for global trade and could lead to economic fragmentation. They also expressed vigilance regarding the tariff policies of the Trump administration. The joint statement reiterated the commitment to maintain the multilateral trading system centered around the WTO. With the US-Japan talks collapsing, the United States has not yet opened any gaps in its tariff negotiations.
Now, the three countries of China, Japan, and South Korea stand together with the ten ASEAN countries, clearly supporting the multilateral trading system centered around the WTO and opposing trade protectionism. This undoubtedly shows that the participating countries are fundamentally opposed to the trade war initiated by Trump. In fact, the United States had two calculations. One was to quickly reach agreements through divide-and-conquer tactics. The other was to pressure countries into taking sides, isolating us.
Looking at the current situation, the United States will fail to achieve either of these goals. In response to the U.S. tactics, the choice of ASEAN countries and the three countries of China, Japan, and South Korea is to stick together. The U.S. divide-and-conquer scheme will come to nothing, and faced with the increasingly closely connected China, Japan, South Korea, and the ten ASEAN countries, the U.S. efforts to open a gap will be futile. What makes the United States even more frustrated is that the ASEAN 10+3 meeting was held in Europe, and the voice emitted by the participating countries will inevitably produce a linkage effect in Europe against resisting the U.S. trade war. Undoubtedly, the trade war initiated by the United States will ultimately end in failure.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831327573774602/
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