Beijing is “evaluating” an offer from Washington to hold talks over US President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs, China’s Commerce Ministry has said, although it warned the United States not to engage in “extortion and coercion”.
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a cat-and-mouse game over tariffs, with both sides unwilling to be seen to back down or be first to come to the table to negotiate a trade war that has roiled global markets and upended supply chains.
The Commerce Ministry said the United States has approached China to seek talks over Mr Trump’s tariffs and Beijing’s door was open for discussions, signalling a potential de-escalation in the trade war.
The statement comes a day after a social media account linked to Chinese state media said Washington had been seeking to start talks, and a week after Mr Trump claimed discussions were already under way, which Beijing denied.
“The US has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the statement said, adding that Beijing was “evaluating this”.
“Attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work,” it said.
The US should be prepared to take action in “correcting erroneous practices” and cancel unilateral tariffs, the Commerce Ministry said, adding that Washington needed to show “sincerity” in negotiations.
China has repeatedly denied it is seeking to negotiate a way out of the tariffs with the United States, appearing instead to be betting that Washington makes the first move.
Mr Trump’s decision to single out Beijing for hefty import duties comes at a particularly difficult time for China, which is struggling with deflation due to sluggish economic growth and a prolonged property crisis.
Beijing has expressed its anger at the tariffs, which it says are tantamount to bullying and cannot stop the rise of the world’s second-largest economy.
Alongside leveraging its propaganda machine to hit back at the duties, China has quietly created a list of US-made products it will exempt from its retaliatory 125% tariffs – including select pharmaceuticals, microchips and jet engines – Reuters has reported.
On the US side, officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, have also expressed hope for progress in easing trade tensions.
“I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process. First, we need to de-escalate, and then … we will start focusing on a larger trade deal,” Mr Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network this week.
Mr Trump said on Wednesday he believed there was a “very good chance” his administration could do a deal with China, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping called on officials to take action to adjust to changes in the international environment, without explicitly mentioning the United States.
Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, said that Beijing would likely play hardball.
“Of course the US hopes to start negotiations as soon as possible, but our attitude is: ‘you must first take some action to show sincerity’,” Mr Wu said.
Once the US revokes tariffs on China, “we can discuss our legitimate concerns”, such as Washington’s worries about unbalanced bilateral trade and Beijing’s gripes over US efforts to “suppress” its technological development, he said.
Dozens of countries face a 90-day deadline expiring in July to strike an agreement with Washington and avoid higher, country-specific rates.
Beijing, in contrast, has vowed to fight a trade war to the bitter end if needed, with a video posted on social media this week by its foreign ministry vowing to “never kneel down!”
“China’s position has always been perfectly consistent,” the commerce ministry said.
“If it’s fight, we will fight to the end; if it’s talk, the door is wide open. The tariff war and trade war were unilaterally initiated by the US side.”
China has acknowledged global economic vicissitudes have strained its economy, long dependent on exports, with officials admitting that foreign-facing firms are facing difficulties.
Data this week showed factory activity shrank in April, with Beijing blaming a “sharp shift” in the global economy.
And on Wednesday data showed the US economy unexpectedly contracted in the first three months of the year that Donald Trump’s tariff plans triggered an import surge.
Ja-Ian Chong of the National University of Singapore said it remained unclear whether any progress can be made, despite the mounting economic need for both sides to make a deal.
“Neither side wishes to look weak,” he said.
Analyst Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said Beijing’s comments represented the “first olive branch” in the gruelling trade war.
“On paper, both capitals are waving detente flags,” he wrote in a note.
“But dig a layer deeper, and the path is still littered with landmines,” he said.
“China’s pledge to fight ‘to the end’ wasn’t retired – just shoved behind softer soundbites – and the ‘cancel duties first’ stick remains a non-starter for the White House.”
Article Source – China mulls US trade talks offer, warns not to engage in tariff ‘extortion’ – RTE
