‘Ignorant, disrespectful’: China slams Vance for ‘peasants’ slur as tariff war intensifies
‘It is surprising and pathetic’ to hear such comments, Chinese foreign ministry says, as trade tensions with the US come to a head
“China’s position on China-US economic and trade relations has been made very clear,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
“It is surprising and pathetic to hear such ignorant and disrespectful words from this vice-president.”
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China condemns US Vice-President J.D. Vance's comments calling Chinese ‘peasants’
Lin was responding to a media query on comments made by Vance in an interview with Fox News last Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on most trading partners – including an extra 34 per cent on Chinese imports.
Defending the levies, Vance said: “We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.
“That is not a recipe for economic prosperity, that’s not a recipe for lower prices, and that’s not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America.”
The “Chinese peasants” remark prompted widespread criticism on Western social media platforms. Many pointed out the irony as Vance once used his own difficult childhood in rural, poverty-stricken Appalachia as a political selling point.
Vance’s 2016 autobiography is titled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.