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The United States on Thursday approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs.
A social media account affiliated with Chinese state media revealed this on Thursday, stating that the move potentially signalled Beijing’s openness to negotiations.
“The US has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,” the post social media said.
US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, also expressed hope for progress in easing trade tensions.
Speaking to CNBC, Hassett said that there have been loose discussions all over both governments about the tariffs and China’s easing of duties on some US goods last week was a sign of progress.
Beijing is said to have 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’s 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.
China has reportedly quietly created a list of US-made products it will exempt from its retaliatory 125% tariffs – including selected pharmaceuticals, microchips and jet engines.
Bessent mentioned no specific talks during a Fox Business Network interview, but said that high tariffs of 145% on the US side and 125% on the Chinese side needed to be de-escalated for negotiations to begin.
“I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process. First, we need to de-escalate, and then over time, we will start focusing on a larger trade deal,” Bessent said.
According to him, among the first steps would be to revisit China’s failure to make good on purchase commitments for American goods made as part of Trump’s 2020 “Phase 1” trade deal that ended his first-term trade war with Beijing.
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English (US) ·