Beijing said it was “evaluating” the US offer to engage in trade negotiations a week after Donald Trump alleged that talks were already underway.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday: “The US has recently said it would like to take many opportunities to inform China through related parties and speak to China.”
On Thursday, an influential Chinese commentator said the country is ready to engage in talks.
Len Yi, a nationalist blogger who writes under the nicknamed Chairman Rabbit, wrote that he learned from sources that the US “has “frequently and actively contacted the Chinese side through various channels” in hopes of negotiating with the Chinese government on economic and trade issues.
China has denied claims that US officials have already been in progress or that China has launched them. Trump said last week that Chinese leader Xi Jinping called him. China’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of “misleading the people” of negotiating status. Ren writes: “If China gave the initiative to succumb to the US and took the initiative, of course, the US would not have taken the initiative to contact China.”
The Commerce Department said Friday that Washington should show “integrity” in negotiations and should not engage in “forcement and fear tor.”
China has repeatedly denounced the US bullying in its approach to trade policy. Both countries have been in Loggerheads since Trump launched a new US-China trade war in early April. Currently, US tariffs on Chinese products are 145%, while China’s retaliatory tariffs have reached 125%.
But while neither side wants to blink first, the US and China have already introduced many exceptions to their respective tariffs, easing the blow of a trade war that risks overturning the global economy.
Factory activities in China slowed down in April. The Bureau of Statistics accused them of reducing “sudden changes in the external environment (in China).
This week, Xi asked authorities to adapt to changes in the international environment, but he did not mention the United States by name.
Elsewhere, Chinese propaganda has become more clear. This week, the Foreign Office released a video of the US denouncement of bullying, saying succumbing to such actions is like “drinking poison.”
A US executive order closes a multi-billion dollar tariff loophole known as “de Minimis” came into effect Friday. The end of the De Minimis regime, which allows low-value goods to be shipped to the US without paying customs fees, will primarily affect exporters in China.
Scott Bescent said this week that he is confident that China wants to reach the deal. The US Treasury Secretary said: “First, we need to escalate, and over time we will begin to focus on bigger trade agreements.”