BEIJING\/WASHINGTON
\nThe United States has approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump\u2019s 145% tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Thursday, potentially signalling Beijing\u2019s openness to negotiations.
\n\u201cThe U.S. has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,\u201d Yuyuan Tantian said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.
\nU.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, also expressed hope for progress in easing trade tensions.
\nHassett told CNBC that there have been \u201cloose discussions all over both governments\u201d about the tariffs and China\u2019s easing of duties on some U.S. goods last week was a sign of progress.
\nBeijing has made little effort to contain its anger at the tariffs, which it says are tantamount to bullying and cannot stop the rise of the world\u2019s second-largest economy. Instead, it has directed its fury at rallying public and global condemnation of the import curbs – showing no interest in a reprieve.
\nThat said, alongside leveraging its propaganda machine to hit back at the duties, China has quietly created a list of U.S.-made products it will exempt from its retaliatory 125% tariffs – including select pharmaceuticals, microchips and jet engines – Reuters has reported, to ease the duties\u2019 impact.
\nBessent mentioned no specific talks during a Fox Business Network interview, but said that high tariffs of 145% on the U.S. side and 125% on the Chinese side needed to be de-escalated for negotiations to begin.
\n\u201cI am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cFirst, we need to de-escalate, and then over time, we will start focusing on a larger trade deal.\u201d
\nHe said that among the first steps would be to revisit China\u2019s failure to make good on purchase commitments for American goods made as part of Trump\u2019s 2020 \u201cPhase 1\u201d trade deal that ended his first-term trade war with Beijing.
\nThat deal called for China to increase purchases of American manufactured and agricultural products and services by $200 billion annually over two years, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit just after its signing.
\nBessent also said that \u201cinsidious\u201d non-tariff trade barriers and intellectual property theft also would be part of negotiations over tariffs with China, adding: \u201ceverything is on the table for the economic relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
TARIFFS TOO HIGH
\nOnce Trump\u2019s tariffs topped 35% they became prohibitively high for Chinese exporters.
\nNomura Securities said that some 16 million Chinese people could lose their jobs once the long-term ripple effects of a 50% drop in Chinese exports to the U.S. work their way through the economy.
\nBessent said the pressure was on China because it is more dependent on exports to the U.S. than vice versa.
\n\u201cThey sell us about five times more than we sell them. So their factories are closing down as we speak,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cWe\u2019re going into the holiday season. Orders are placed for that now. So if those orders aren\u2019t placed, it could be devastating for the Chinese.\u201d
\nStill, Beijing has been adamant it will stand and fight, rather than rush to the negotiation table – with the foreign ministry likening yielding to Trump\u2019s tariffs to \u201cdrinking poison.\u201d
\n\u201cBefore the U.S. takes any substantive action, China has no need to engage in talks with the U.S.,\u201d the post from Yuyuan Tantian added, citing anonymous experts. \u201cHowever, if the U.S. wishes to initiate contact, there is no harm at this stage for China to engage.\u201d
\n\u201cChina needs to observe closely, even force out the U.S.\u2019 true intentions, to maintain the initiative in both negotiation and confrontation,\u201d it concluded.
\nTrump said in a U.S. media interview published last Friday that his administration was talking with China to reach a tariff deal and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him. Beijing last week repeatedly denied such talks were taking place, accusing Washington of \u201cmisleading the public\u201d.<\/p>\n
NO KNOWN TALKS
\nGuo Jiakun, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday: \u201cas far as I know, there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the U.S. on tariffs\u201d.
\nChinese officials have consistently stated that Beijing is open to talks, with the caveat that \u201cdialogue and negotiation must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit.\u201d
\nYuyuan Tantian is not among China\u2019s most authoritative state media outlets. The Global Times, which is owned by the newspaper of the governing Communist Party, People\u2019s Daily, has often been first to report China\u2019s next steps in trade disagreements over the past few years.
\nTrump said on Wednesday he believed there was a \u201cvery good chance\u201d his administration could do a deal with China, hours after Xi called on officials to take action to adjust to changes in the international environment, without explicitly mentioning the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING\/WASHINGTON The United States has approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump\u2019s 145% tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Thursday, potentially signalling Beijing\u2019s openness to negotiations. \u201cThe U.S. has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,\u201d Yuyuan Tantian said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-475895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n