China Vows Commitment to Free Trade Support at Davos
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng delivered pointed remarks highlighting recent economic turbulence, stating: "Since last year, tariff and trade wars have inflicted significant shocks on the world economy and posed serious challenges to multilateralism and free trade."
Despite mounting global trade tensions, China has "remained steadfast in supporting multilateralism and free trade," He emphasized.
Addressing the forum's attendees, the vice premier declared: "We should firmly support free trade and jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization."
He dismissed the effectiveness of protectionist measures, asserting that tariffs and trade wars "have no winners," while noting that international collaboration has delivered substantial benefits to numerous nations, including China.
The vice premier cautioned against abandoning globalization entirely, saying: "While economic globalization is not perfect and may cause some problems, we cannot completely reject it and retreat to self-imposed isolation." He continued: "The right approach should be, and can only be, to find solutions together through dialogue and steer economic globalization in the correct direction."
He pushed back against power-based international hierarchies, arguing: "A handful of countries should not enjoy privileges based on their strength, and the world must not return to the law of the jungle, where the strong bully the weak. Every country is entitled to defend its legitimate rights and interests." He characterized multilateralism as "the right way."
Promoting cooperative economics over zero-sum competition, the vice premier stated: "Making the pie bigger together is more important than fighting for the pie, and solving problems together is more effective than blaming each other." He stressed Beijing's dedication to "making the pie bigger for global economy and trade."
He positioned China as seeking market expansion rather than trade imbalances, saying: "We never seek trade surplus. On top of being the world's factory, we hope to be the world's market, too."
Data shows China's trade surplus hit $1.19 trillion, while GDP growth maintained a 5% rate in 2025.
The vice premier highlighted practical barriers to bilateral commerce, noting: "However, in many cases, when China wants to buy, others don't want to sell. Trade issues often become security hurdles."
Turning to US-China relations, He Lifeng emphasized that the two sides "will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation" and "should help each other succeed and prosper together."
The US and China represent the world's largest economies, conducting bilateral trade valued at hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
Both nations engaged in a tariff conflict in 2025 before subsequently negotiating a trade agreement through diplomatic channels.
He acknowledged that divergences naturally arise between nations with varying governance structures, developmental stages, and cultural backgrounds.
"The key is to uphold the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, build trust through dialogue and resolve disputes through consultation," he stated, advocating for "mutual respect and equal-footed consultation."
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