On 29 March 2018, the Financial Times and its English website and Chinese website published a signed article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming entitled "Europe and China must unite against protectionism". The full text is as follows:

2018年3月29日，英国《金融时报》纸质版、网络版和该报中文网刊登驻英国大使刘晓明题为《欧洲和中国应共同反对贸易保护主义》的署名文章，全文如下：

Europe and China Must Unite Against Protectionism

欧洲和中国应共同反对贸易保护主义

The recent protectionist measures by the US administration are dangerous and risk triggering a trade war and hampering global growth. The world is at a crossroads between co-operation and confrontation. This is a critical time when the international community should be upholding the global trading system.

最近美国政府出台多项贸易保护主义举措，这些举动十分危险，可能挑起贸易战并阻碍全球经济增长。世界正站在十字路口，是选择合作，还是选择对抗？我认为，值此关键时刻，国际社会应该团结一致，坚定捍卫国际贸易体系。

At the centre of this system is the World Trade Organization, which was established in 1995 by the international community in pursuit of open, fair and equitable trade following nine rounds of multilateral trade negotiation to reduce trade barriers. With 164 members that account for over 95 per cent of global trade, the WTO has become a major platform for trade issues. There has been a dramatic reduction in average tariffs applied by WTO members, and global trade in goods has quadrupled over the past 20 years. Trade has become a driving force for global growth and trade liberalisation is now an international consensus. Despite new challenges, this body is capable of reform and overhauling itself in order to cement its position as the centrepiece of the multilateral trading system.

要坚持以世贸组织为核心的国际贸易体系。为建立开放、公正、公平的国际贸易体系，国际社会围绕削减贸易壁垒进行了9轮多边谈判，终于在1995年成立世界贸易组织。目前世贸组织已发展成为拥有164个成员、占全球贸易量95%以上的国际贸易主平台。20多年来，全球关税水平大幅降低，国际货物贸易增长了四倍。贸易促进了世界经济增长，贸易自由化也成为国际社会共识。虽然世贸组织仍面临不少新挑战，但我相信，通过不断改革与完善，世贸组织将继续保持其多边贸易体系核心的地位。

This will be key to warding off the potential disaster of trade protectionism.

要警惕保护主义给人类社会带来的灾难。

Throughout the history of international trade, protectionism has been a spectre stalking the world. The Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 was adopted to protect US businesses and jobs and to increase government revenue by raising tariffs on imported goods. It led to a wave of international retaliation and an exacerbation of the Great Depression. In 1933, US gross domestic product plunged by 45 per cent compared with 1929, and the contribution of trade to GDP dropped from 11 per cent to 6.6 per cent. History is a mirror. Last week the US government announced new protectionist measures against China, resulting in the S&P 500 losing well over $1tn in market value. The impact was also felt by the European and Asian markets. There is no need for history to repeat itself only for us to learn the straightforward lesson that there is no winner in a trade war.

自从有国际贸易以来，保护主义的幽灵就一直时隐时现。1930年，当时美国政府为保护本国相关产业和就业、增加政府收入，执意通过提高进口货物关税的《斯姆特-霍利关税法案》，结果引发全球报复性行动，1933年美国GDP比1929年下降45%，贸易占GDP的比重从11.0%下降至6.6%，世界经济大萧条进一步加深。历史是一面镜子。上周，美国政府再次宣布出台对华新贸易保护主义举措，美国股市市值一天内蒸发超1万亿美元，欧洲、亚洲股市均遭波及。历史和现实一再提醒我们，发动贸易战损人不利己。

China has been the powerhouse for global growth and a main contributor to an open world economy in recent years. Since becoming a WTO member in 2001, China has cut average tariffs from 15.3 per cent to 9.8 per cent, removed over 50 access restrictions on the manufacturing sector and opened about 120 sectors of the service industry to different degrees. It is now the largest trading partner of 124 countries and one of the top three markets for goods from 54 WTO members.

中国是维护国际自由贸易的坚定力量。近年来中国一直是拉动世界经济增长的主动力，也是建设开放型世界经济的主要贡献者。自2001年加入世贸组织以来，中国关税总水平从15.3%下降到9.8%；制造业准入限制与加入之初相比减少了50多条；服务业不同程度开放将近120个部门。中国已是全球124个国家最大贸易伙伴，54个世贸组织成员的前三大货物出口市场。

At the 19th Communist Party Congress, China reiterated its commitment to opening up on all fronts and building a community with a shared future for mankind. It has undergone four decades of effective reform and opening-up and will continue to do so in the next 40 years. As President Xi Jinping said, "China will not close its doors to the world; we will only become more and more open." This determination arises from China’s strong belief that openness brings progress, while seclusion leaves a country behind.

中共十九大提出，中国努力推动形成全面开放新格局，致力于构建人类命运共同体。中国改革开放已走过40年。下一个40年，我们还要继续改革开放。正如习近平主席所说，“中国开放的大门不会关闭，只会越开越大。”因为我们清楚地知道，开放带来进步，封闭必然落后。

The UK and Europe have been advocates of trade liberalisation and firm supporters of the multilateral system of trade. The leaders of the UK, France and Germany have expressed their concerns over US protectionism and stressed that WTO rules should be the basis for solving trade disputes. This clearly points to shared interests for China and Europe in safeguarding the multilateral trade regime.

英国和欧洲一直是贸易自由化的践行者，也是多边贸易体系的坚定拥护者。英、法、德等国领导人近来均对美国采取的保护主义措施表示担忧，强调解决贸易争端要以世贸组织规则为基础。中国和欧洲在维护多边贸易体系上有着共同利益。

There is a saying in Europe that "a single tree cannot block the chilly wind". Only if the UK, Europe and China stand shoulder to shoulder, will they be able to uphold openness and co-operation, and safeguard the international trade regime from the dangers of protectionism.

欧洲朋友常讲“一棵树挡不住寒风”。在愈刮愈烈的贸易保护主义“寒风”面前，中英、中欧应该携手并肩，高举开放、合作旗帜，坚决反对贸易保护主义，坚决捍卫国际贸易体系。