HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
China says open to US trade talks offer but wants tariffs scrapped
China said Friday it is evaluating a US offer for negotiations on tariffs but insisted Washington must be ready to scrap levies that have roiled global markets and supply chains before talks can begin.
Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products came into force in April while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.
High-end tech goods such as smartphones, semiconductors and computers have received a temporary reprieve from US tariffs.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that China has reached out for talks on the tariffs, and this week said he believed there was a very good chance we're going to make a deal.
Beijing's commerce ministry on Friday said that it was the US that had reached out and that it was currently evaluating the offer.
But, it said, any talks would first require concessions from the US side.
If the US wants to talk, it should show its sincerity to do so, be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel unilateral tariffs, the ministry said.
In any possible dialogue or talks, if the US side does not correct its wrong unilateral tariff measures, it just means the US side is completely insincere and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides, it added.
Saying one thing and doing another, or even attempting coercion and blackmail under the guise of talks will not work, the commerce ministry said.
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', Wu told AFP.
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 Friday.
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.
- 'Olive branch' -
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 Donald Trump's tariff plans triggered an import surge.
The United States also ended tariff exemptions on Friday for goods shipped from China worth less than $800, a move which could have significant ramifications on consumers' purchasing habits.
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 latest 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.
(2025/05/02 18:41)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 05/02 18:46 US protesters mark May Day with hundreds of anti-Trump rallies
- 05/02 18:44 Israel strikes near Damascus presidential palace over Druze violence
- 05/02 18:42 Shibutani siblings return to ice dance after seven years
- 05/02 18:41 China says open to US trade talks offer but wants tariffs scrapped
- 05/02 18:39 Verstappen late to Miami GP as awaits birth of child
- 05/02 18:38 Apple expects $900 mn tariff hit, US iPhone supply shifts to India
- 05/01 18:12 Ex-VP Harris says Trump's America is 'self-serving'
- 05/01 18:09 James will mull NBA future after Lakers playoff exit
- 05/01 17:46 Myanmar junta lets post-quake truce expire
- 05/01 16:58 Trump praises Musk as chief disruptor eyes exit
- 05/01 16:55 Mexico City to host F1 races until 2028
- 05/01 16:54 Israel's Netanyahu warns wildfires could reach Jerusalem
- 04/30 19:23 After 100 days in office, Trump voters still back US president
- 04/30 19:20 US warplane falls off aircraft carrier into Red Sea
- 04/30 19:18 Jannik Sinner launches foundation supporting children
- 04/30 19:17 Trump fires Kamala Harris's husband from Holocaust board
- 04/30 17:14 Kardashian robbery suspect says heist was one 'too many'
- 04/30 17:11 Trump's DC prosecutor accuses Wikipedia of 'information manipulation'
- 04/28 19:00 'Toxic beauty'-- Rise of 'looksmaxxing' influencers
- 04/28 18:57 China says on 'right side of history' in trade standoff with US
- 04/28 18:56 Conflicts spur 'unprecedented' rise in military spending
- 04/28 16:21 US says it struck 800 targets in Yemen, killed 100s of Huthis since March 15
- 04/28 16:18 'Noble work' of Buddhist cremations after Myanmar quake
- 04/28 16:16 China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost-- report
- 04/25 18:12 Remains of 5,000-year-old noblewoman found in Peru dig
- 04/25 18:10 Trump signs order to ramp up US deep-sea mining
- 04/25 18:08 Vatican releases details of Pope Francis's marble tomb
- 04/25 17:55 French youth kills student, wounds three, in school knife attack
- 04/25 17:52 Sudan war destroys world's only research centre on skin disease mycetoma-- director
- 04/25 17:45 Trump slams Harvard as funding fight heads to court
- 04/24 18:26 YouTube says more than 20 billion videos uploaded in 20 years
- 04/24 18:19 Forbidden K-pop to centre stage-- North Koreans set for music debut
- 04/24 17:01 Oasis fans lose 'over £2 million' in UK ticket scams
- 04/24 16:59 Swiatek hardened by going 'through the worst' after doping ban
- 04/24 16:57 Trump seeks 'fair deal' with China but pathway unclear