‘Seek dialogue with us’: China, Trump lower tariffs temperature

Beijing has suggested Washington approach it for talks after Donald Trump said he wanted to lower the 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent performs a ceremonial swearing in of Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the White House. Picture: AFP.

Beijing has suggested Washington approach it for talks, after Donald Trump admitted he wants to lower the 145 per cent tariff he recently placed on the country and said he wouldn’t “play hardball” over their escalating trade war.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told reporters: “One hundred 45 per cent is high, it won’t be that high. It won’t be zero.

“I’m not going to play hard ball with China, with Xi,” he added. “I’m going to be very nice and they’re going to be very nice but ultimately they have to make a deal.”

In an analyis in The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, the author welcomed Mr Trump’s “seemingly softening tone,” although Bao Jianyun, dean of the Department of International Politics, School of International studies at Renmin University of China told the newspaper it indicated that Washington was realising its tariff policy “has shown a significant discrepancy between its actual outcomes and its initial goals.”

Reiterating Beijing’s position that trade wars have no winners, the article declared: “China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them. If the US truly wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop using maximum pressure, stop threats and blackmail and seek dialogue with China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit”.

Earlier on Wednesday (AEST) Mr Trump‘s press secretary said the White House was “setting the stage” for a deal on tariffs with China, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted the current standoff was not sustainable.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday (local time): “We’re doing very well with respect to a potential trade deal with China.”

“Everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen and the ball is moving in the right direction,” she added.

Ms Leavitt’s remarks came after Scott Bessent predicted the tit-for-tat tariff war would de-escalate soon.

Since Donald Trump’s White House return in January, the United States has slapped additional tariffs of 145 per cent on many products from China.

These include duties initially imposed over China’s alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain and later, over practices Washington deemed as unfair.

Beijing has responded with sweeping counter tariffs of 125 per cent on US goods, in retaliation against Washington’s latest salvo.

China has now urged Indonesia to help it oppose protectionism and escalate regional trade integration, while warning Jakarta’s neighbours against trying to “appease” Washington by striking trade deals at Beijing’s expense.

Speaking at a closed-door event hosted by JPMorgan Chase, Bessent said the enormous tariffs the world’s two biggest economies placed on each other’s imports amounted to a reciprocal trade embargo.

“I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations,” Mr Bessent said. “Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.”

Bessent told the event Tuesday that he expects a de-escalation in the near future, according to a person who was in the room.

He noted that the current trade embargo involves both sides. Such a development should bring markets some relief, he added at the event, which was not open to media.

Wall Street’s major indexes jumped after a news report on Bessent’s comments at the event, which took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s Spring Meetings.

Bessent said there is much to be done at the end of the day with Beijing. But he noted the need for fair trade and said that China needs to rebalance its economy.

The Treasury chief stressed that the goal is not to decouple with China, adding that Washington wants to stay engaged – in a manner it considers more fair.

He noted that container bookings between both countries have slumped recently as trade tensions heated up.

Bessent acknowledged that negotiations with China will likely be tough, however, although reiterating that neither side believes the current situation can carry on indefinitely.

As global finance ministers and central bankers converge in Washington this week, all eyes are on the progress of trade talks on the sidelines of the spring meetings as countries grapple with Trump’s new and wide-ranging tariffs.

with AFP