China is considering an offer from the U.S. regarding talks on tariffs, as per a statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry on Friday. This change in stance might create an opportunity for the world’s top two economies to reduce tensions in the trade war, which has caused upheaval in global markets.
In a statement, the ministry mentioned, “The U.S. has reached out to China multiple times through appropriate channels, expressing its interest in dialogue with China.” The ministry also stated that Beijing is currently “assessing” this proposal.
Despite showing willingness to engage in discussions, the Chinese Commerce Ministry emphasized that it would not succumb to entering an unfavorable agreement. The ministry highlighted that any attempts to leverage talks for coercion or extortion would be ineffective, as stated in the Reuters translation.
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs last month. He slapped a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. Meanwhile, Beijing put a 125% tariff on U.S. imports. However, the country recently waived the tariff on a host of American-made products.
There were already exemptions for some pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines, but China added an exemption for ethane imports, according to Reuters.
Beijing’s change in messaging regarding the tariffs comes in stark contrast to its April 23 comments during a U.N. Security Council Arria-formula meeting on “The Impact of Unilateralism and Bullying Practices on International Relations.” At that meeting, China accused the U.S. of using tariffs to bully the rest of the world.
Picture split showing China’s President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump. (Xi photo: Pedro Pardo – Pool/Getty Images| Trump photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Under the guise of reciprocity and fairness, the U.S. is playing a zero-sum game, which is essentially about subverting the existing international economic and trade order by means of tariffs, putting U.S. interests above the common good of the international community and advancing hegemonic ambitions of the U.S. at the cost of the legitimate interest of all countries,” Chinese U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong said in his opening remarks.
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the meeting was “a waste of U.N. Security Council members’ time.” The spokesperson also slammed the meeting as an example of China’s manipulation of “the multilateral system to support its economic, political, and security interests.”
