Over a pivotal week at the United Nations, China strategically aimed to project an image of responsibility and global commitment. This move comes as the United States, under President Trump’s administration, appears to be stepping back from its international duties.
During the U.N. General Assembly, Chinese leaders unveiled fresh pledges on both trade and environmental protection. These announcements, while perhaps modest in their direct impact, were significant for the message they conveyed: China as a steadfast pillar of global stability and cooperation.
In a thinly veiled critique of the United States, Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest official, highlighted in his Friday speech how “unilateral and protectionist measures, such as increased tariffs,” were hindering global economic growth. In sharp contrast, Li asserted that China was consistently “opening its door wider to the world.”
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Beijing declared it would cease claiming certain trade benefits traditionally reserved for developing nations at the World Trade Organization. Experts view this as China’s attempt to demonstrate its commitment to fairer trade practices, especially as the Trump administration continues to employ tariffs as a political tool, seemingly doing the opposite.
On the environmental front, China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping, delivered a video address to a U.N. climate summit on Wednesday. For the first time, he presented a detailed target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Xi emphasized that embracing a “green and low carbon” future is the undeniable “trend of our time,” subtly criticizing nations that are “acting against” this vital transition—a clear jab at the United States.
The contrast between the two nations’ approaches couldn’t be starker. Xi’s climate promise came just one day after former President Trump dismissed climate change as the “greatest con job,” supposedly concocted by “stupid people.”
These successive declarations underscore Beijing’s strategic shift: to present itself as a compelling alternative to an “America First” doctrine. China champions its own philosophy, “true multilateralism,” which involves actively engaging with international bodies and accords that the Trump administration has distanced itself from, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the Paris climate agreement.
According to Dylan Loh, a Chinese foreign policy expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the overarching objective is to convince other nations that China acts as a “moral righteous actor.” This would encourage them to align more closely with Beijing’s direction rather than Washington’s.
“They’re seizing opportunities,” Loh explained. “Wherever they observe the United States creating a leadership void, particularly on climate concerns, China is stepping forward to fill that space.”
However, whether China’s actions are truly transformative or merely benefit from the low expectations set by the Trump administration’s disengagement from climate science and international commitments remains a pertinent question.
Consider President Xi’s climate targets: environmental experts suggest that for a realistic chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels—the central aim of the Paris climate accord—China would need to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from peak levels over the next decade. Yet, China, the world’s largest polluter, pledged only a 7 to 10% reduction.
“The primary target announced by President Xi has disappointed environmentalists and falls short of the urgent climate leadership the world demands,” stated Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Nevertheless, Mr. Li expressed optimism that China might eventually surpass these targets, driven by its burgeoning electric vehicle, wind, and solar energy sectors.
China has historically been reluctant to make more aggressive climate pledges, citing concerns that such commitments could impede its economic development.
A similar contradiction exists in China’s self-perception as a “developing country.” This classification helps it maintain solidarity with less developed nations, even as its economy, valued at nearly $19 trillion, stands as the world’s second-largest.
Premier Li’s recent trade pledge, signaling China’s intent to forgo certain World Trade Organization benefits, appeared designed to address this discrepancy. These benefits include, for example, extended timelines for implementing trade agreements.
However, Li Yihong, China’s chief representative to the WTO, reiterated to journalists in Geneva that China would “always remain a part of the developing world.”
The United States has consistently criticized China for not honoring its commitments made upon joining the WTO in 2001. The Trump administration specifically argues that China’s “developing nation” status has long been exploited to manipulate global trading regulations.
“China is attempting to have it both ways,” commented Stephen Olson, a former U.S. trade negotiator and senior visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. “It clearly doesn’t want to lose its ‘membership card’ in the Global South, a bloc it aims to lead.”
Mr. Olson further noted that this policy adjustment should not overshadow some of China’s more problematic trade practices, such as the government subsidies that make its exports unfairly competitive against goods produced elsewhere.
Berry Wang contributed reporting from Hong Kong.