China clapped back at JD Vance on Tuesday, deeming the vice president ignorant after he purported that the U.S. was borrowing money from “Chinese peasants,” Politicoreported. Beijing “has made its position perfectly clear on its trade relations with the U.S.,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference. “To hear words that lack knowledge and respect like those uttered by this vice president is both surprising and kind of lamentable.” During an interview on Fox News last Thursday, Vance defended President Donald Trump’s controversial tariff measures by tearing down Chinese people. “Fundamentally, it’s based on two principles, incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things other countries make for us… We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things that Chinese peasants manufacture,” he added. China and the U.S. are currently caught up in a tit-for-tat tariff war in which Trump has slapped a 34 percent duty on Chinese imports, which in turn prompted Beijing to respond with a reciprocal tariff.
