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US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1. With his opening rounds of memoranda and executive orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden's actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep TikTok open in the US, among other actions. He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the AP reported.

Quitting Paris climate deal

Trump late Monday signed an executive order to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.

The move is part of the president's effort to "MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AND ENERGY DOMINANT AGAIN," read the statement of the White House.

Adopted in December 2015, the Paris Agreement is an international endeavor to tackle human-caused global warming and related crises, which the US formally joined in September 2016. The move means the US will pull out of the Paris climate accord for the second time. The first Trump administration officially let the United States, one of the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases, exit the Paris climate accord in November 2020, dealing a major blow to international efforts combating the climate crisis. 

Simon Stiell, the UN's climate chief, said on Tuesday that the science of global warming had been "weaponized" by politics, a day after Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, AFP reported. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded on Tuesday to questions regarding the White House's announcement to withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Monday, saying that China expresses concern over the US announcement. 

Guo said that climate change is a challenge facing all humanity, and no country can stay insulated.  China's resolve and actions to actively respond to climate change will remain unchanged. China will work with all parties to actively address the climate challenge and promote a global green and low-carbon transition for the shared future of humanity.

Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies and research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the US withdrawing from the accord will bring great impact to the global fight against the climate change as the US is the one of the top carbon emitters of the world, and the setback of international sci-tech cooperation on relevant issues will also add new obstacles for all countries to deal with this common challenges. 

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the change made by the US will also cause Washington to escape from the responsibilities that it should take, and this will add more pressures to other countries who are still implementing the Paris climate accord.

Trump also declared a "national energy emergency" as part of a suite of Day 1 executive orders and other actions on Monday aimed at carrying out his long-promised "drill, baby, drill" agenda on American fossil fuels, USA Today reported.  

The orders include eliminating the so-called "electric vehicle mandate," Trump's phrase for the Environmental Protection Agency rule that required auto manufacturers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half in new light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning in 2027, according to the report. 

Withdrawing from WHO

President Trump moved quickly on Monday to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization, a move that public health experts say will undermine the nation's standing as a global health leader and make it harder to fight the next pandemic, The New York Times reported.

In an executive order issued about eight hours after he took the oath of office, Trump cited a string of reasons for the withdrawal, including the WHO's "mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic," and the "failure to adopt urgently needed reforms."

The WHO has expressed regret over Trump's announcement of withdrawing the country from the organization. It hopes the US government will reconsider this decision. In a statement released on Tuesday, the WHO also said it looks forward to maintaining its partnership through constructive dialogue. It reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the root causes of diseases, strengthening health systems, and detecting, preventing, and responding to health emergencies, such as disease outbreaks.

Regarding the US' withdrawal from the WHO, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo said on Tuesday that as the authoritative and professional international organization in global public health, WHO plays a central role in coordinating global public health governance. Its role should only be strengthened rather than weakened.  

"The US move of withdrawing from the WHO will make the country an 'information isolated island' in terms of public health, and this will be dangerous once another round of global pandemic occurs, and if there are any new public health emergencies, such as a new virus in the US, it would be difficult for the international community to learn from the situation and also be prepared for this kind of crisis," Lü noted. 

Tariffs and inflation 

On Monday evening, Trump also signed a largely symbolic memorandum that he described as directing every federal agency to combat consumer inflation.

On trade, the president said he expects to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on February 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports, according to the AP.

Trump held off unveiling China-specific tariffs on his first day in office, instead ordering his administration to address unfair trade practices globally and investigate whether Beijing had complied with a deal signed during his first term, Bloomberg reported. 

However, CNN said in a fact check article that "In his inaugural address, Trump said, 'Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.' But this description of tariffs is false. Tariffs imposed by the US government are paid by US importers, not foreign countries."

Li said US' neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico will face the main impacts at the beginning of Trump's term, as the US is now determined to impose more tariffs on them and the issues regarding immigrants and border control would also be intense, but on the trade ties between China and the US, it would be too early to give a conclusion, as the two major economies will need some time to coordinate and engage. China's position to welcome dialogue and oppose trade war is consistent and clear.  

In response to a media question regarding Trump's reported plan for his administration to investigate China's trade practices without immediately imposing new tariffs against China, FM spokesperson Guo said that economic cooperation and trade between China and the US benefit both sides. Keeping business ties sound and stable serves the fundamental interests of both countries and both peoples, it is also conducive to global economic growth. 

China stands ready to follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication with the US, properly manage differences, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation. We hope the US will work with us to promote the steady, sound and sustainable growth of bilateral trade and economic ties, Guo said.