China says JD Vance’s comments about ‘peasants’ are ‘words that lack knowledge and respect’

China is pushing back Tuesday after Vice President JD Vance told Fox News last week that the U.S. borrows “money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.” 

Vance, during an interview with “Fox & Friends,” made the remark while speaking about the effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs. 

“I think it’s useful for all of us to step back and ask us, ask ourselves, what is the globalist economy gotten the United States of America? And the answer is fundamentally, it’s based on two principles — incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us, and to make it a little bit more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture,” Vance said.  

When asked about Vance’s comments on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said, “To hear words that lack knowledge and respect like those uttered by this Vice President is both surprising and kind of lamentable. 

JD VANCE HONORS HIS MOTHER AT WHITE HOUSE FOR REACHING 10 YEARS SOBRIETY 

Vice President JD Vance arrives for a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“China has made its position perfectly clear on its trade relations with the U.S.,” he added. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

China’s criticism of Vance on Tuesday comes as the U.S. and China are involved in an escalating dispute over tariffs. 

TRUMP SAYS US NOT WILLING TO MAKE DEAL WITH CHINA UNLESS TRADE DEFICIT IS SOLVED 

President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event at the White House on April 2. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

“Remember the during the first Trump administration, everybody said that Trump’s tariffs were going to be inflationary back then. What actually happened — we had 1.5% inflation, we had the fastest growing economy in a generation. And we had the beginning of a manufacturing renaissance in the United States of America,” Vance told Fox News. “Then, of course, we had four terrible years of the Biden administration.” 

President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China is pushing back Tuesday on comments made by Vice President JD Vance last week. (Getty)

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“We’ve seen closing factories. We’ve seen rising inflation. We’ve seen the cost of housing so high that most Americans can’t afford to buy a home right now,” he also said. “President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction. He ran on that. He promised it. And now he’s delivering.”