As Trump shakes the international order, China casts itself as a model of stability

BEIJING — As President Donald Trump gave a fiery and divisive speech to a joint session of Congress last week, a much more staid political event was underway on the other side of the world.

The annual gathering of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament is tightly choreographed, with all decisions made in advance by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Security is even tighter than usual around central Beijing and armies of volunteers wearing red armbands are stationed on street corners and at subway stations.

Though there are few surprises and no debate, the weeklong National People’s Congress does offer clues to China’s priorities at home and how it plans to approach the world.

Even as it faces a slowing economy, China appears to be making a strategic decision to present itself as a global stalwart amid a world in turmoil as Trump upends international trade and long-standing alliances, eroding U.S. prestige and creating an opportunity for China to fill the void.

As if to underscore China’s relative steadfastness, Foreign Minister Wang Yi rarely gestured or moved his hands at his annual news conference on Friday. He used the word “stability” at least 14 times during 90 minutes in front of reporters, according to Chinese transcripts.

Some of his sharpest language was directed at the Trump administration, which last week doubled tariffs on Chinese imports to 20% and said there could be more to come.

“No country should expect to suppress and contain China on one hand while developing good relations with China on the other,” Wang said, slamming what he called a “two-faced approach.”

China has long complained about U.S. tariffs, which in the first Trump administration set off a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. But at least outwardly, China doesn’t appear overly concerned about the impact of the new tariffs or in a rush to placate Trump to stave off more.

“Nobody worries about it,” tech executive Yao Lijun told NBC News on Wednesday as he walked out of the Great Hall of the People, an ornate building next to Tiananmen Square in Beijing where some 3,000 Chinese leaders and lawmakers were gathered for the NPC.

“We only focus on ourselves, how we can do much better,” he said. “We don’t worry about others.”

China responded to the new tariff on Tuesday by announcing targeted tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. goods, mostly agricultural products, in a measured move similar to the levies it imposed when the first 10% tariff took effect last month.

“Appearing alarmed or alarmist is not something Beijing wants to communicate, because that’s precisely what Trump is trying to elicit,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University in Shanghai.

Though Wang avoided saying anything too provocative on Friday, earlier in the week Beijing called back to its more aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy of the past, with the Foreign Ministry saying, “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

It was the harshest rhetoric from Beijing since Trump returned to office in January.

The message from those comments is clear, said Wang Dong, a professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University in Beijing. China will resolutely defend its national interests, and any U.S. attempt to force it into submission “will backfire and fail,” he said.

“China will use a ‘tit for tat’ strategy, meaning if the U.S. shifts to conflict, China will follow suit and retaliate,” he said. “When the U.S. reverts back to cooperation, China will do the same.”

Cooperation did not appear to be on Trump’s mind on Tuesday as he told Congress he would impose reciprocal tariffs on “friend and foe” starting April 2.

His “America First” speech sent the message that “the U.S. only cares about its own interests and will pursue them in a relentless and ruthless manner, without caring about international rules or norms,” Wang, the professor, said in written comments.

He noted that Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, both of which he touted in his address to Congress. Such moves signal the U.S. is no longer interested in upholding the liberal values and rules-based international order it has championed since the end of World War II, Prof. Wang said.

“By contrast, China’s message is it is willing to work with other stakeholders and the international community to tackle common global challenges such as climate change,” he said.

In keeping with the stability theme, Chinese officials announced the same target for economic growth as last year: 5%. Likewise, China’s 2025 increase in defense spending is staying the same as last year at 7.2%.

Delivering a government work report at the opening session on Wednesday, Premier Li Qiang, China’s No. 2 official, did not mention Trump but noted rising unilateralism and protectionism around the world and indicated China would pursue the opposite.

“China is ready to work with other members of the international community to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world,” he said.

Li acknowledged China’s significant economic challenges, which include a persistent property crisis, high youth unemployment and sluggish consumer spending. And in a nod to U.S. tariffs and other measures, he said, “An increasingly complex and severe external environment may exert a greater impact on China in areas such as trade, science and technology.”

“Regardless of changes in the external environment, we should remain steadfast in our commitment to opening up,” Li said. “We will continue to expand our globally oriented network of high-standard free trade areas.”

China is counting on its trade relationships with other countries to help its export-dependent economy withstand Trump’s tariffs, the cost of which U.S. and other experts say will be almost entirely passed on to American consumers and importers.

“To be frank, with this kind of tariff war, both countries suffer,” said Zhang Weiwei, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai and the director of its China Institute.

“But the U.S. will suffer more.”

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing, and Jennifer Jett and Peter Guo reported from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com