On July 26, 2023, the Chinese flag flew outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.
Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images
A 10-nation regional group led by China on Wednesday criticized so-called protectionist trade measures as part of a deepening standoff between Beijing and Western countries over tariffs on Chinese products.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian security and political body, also slammed “unilateral sanctions” as members Iran and Russia face trade restrictions.
The criticisms were made in a joint statement signed by 10 countries including China, Russia, Iran, India and host Pakistan after the SCO heads of government meeting in Islamabad.
The statement said the 10 member states, represented by seven prime ministers, “believe it is important to continue working together to combat protectionist trade measures that violate WTO rules.”
The United States and Canada have increased tariffs on Chinese products such as electric vehicles, aluminum and steel, and the European Union is set to follow suit. Beijing calls the measures discriminatory and has taken similar actions as the standoff has intensified.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization also stated that “unilateral imposition of sanctions” violates international law and has an impact on third countries.
Russia and Iran are both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and both face Western sanctions. Both countries have some of the world’s largest energy resources.
Sanctions mean smaller countries have avoided trade with the two countries, although larger, more influential economies such as China and India continue to buy energy from them.
Despite the cost-effectiveness, energy-hungry Pakistan does not import gas or fuel from neighboring Iran, with gas pipelines between the two countries stalled as Islamabad fears U.S. sanctions.
Earlier at the meeting, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for the expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“Flagship projects such as President Xi Jinping’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative… should be expanded to focus on developing roads, railways and digital infrastructure to strengthen Belt and Road cooperation in our region,” Sharif said in his speech as chairman of the conference.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a US$1 trillion global infrastructure and energy network plan launched by China a decade ago to connect Asia to Africa and Europe via land and sea routes.
More than 150 countries, including Russia, have signed up to participate.
Beijing’s rivals see the Belt and Road Initiative as a tool for China to expand its geopolitical and economic influence.
Western countries announced a US$600 billion interconnection infrastructure development plan under the G7 platform last year.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, in which Beijing has poured billions of dollars into the South Asian country to build a road network, strategic ports and airports.
