China exempted some U.S. imports from its 125 per cent tariffs on Friday, according to businesses, although China quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that negotiations between the two countries were underway.
Trump’s administration has in recent days signalled it is looking to de-escalate the confrontation between the world’s two largest economies, which has so far frozen much of the trade between them and raised fears of a global recession.
“As a quid-pro-quo move, it could provide a potential way to de-escalate tensions,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a senior adviser to the Conference Board’s China Center, a think-tank.
But he cautioned: “It’s clear that neither the U.S. nor China want to be the first in reaching out for a deal.”
Trump told reporters on Friday that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping “numerous times,” but did not say when the two leaders last talked or what topics they discussed.
This comes shortly after Trump told Time magazine in an interview that the Chinese president had called him.
“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump told the magazine.
Beijing has so far disputed the U.S. characterization of talks — the Chinese Embassy said again on Friday that there have been no talks between the two countries, adding in a statement that the U.S. should “stop creating confusion.” China has also not communicated publicly on any exemptions.
The U.S.-China trade war is in full swing, with neither side showing signs of backing down. Andrew Chang explains how China is positioned to absorb the shock of U.S. tariffs and what this global economic disruption could mean for their place in the world order.
Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
A Friday statement by the Politburo, the Communist Party’s elite decision-making body, focused on efforts to maintain stability at home by supporting firms and workers most affected by tariffs.
The readout, which followed the Politburo’s regular monthly meeting, showed that Beijing was also ready to hunker down and fight a trade war of attrition if needed to outlast Washington in enduring trade war pain.
A Ministry of Commerce task force is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to a person with knowledge of that outreach.
The ministry said on Thursday it had held a meeting with more than 80 foreign companies and business chambers in China to discuss the impact of U.S. tariffs on investment and the operation of foreign firms.
“The Chinese government, for example, has been asking our companies what sort of things are you importing to China from the U.S. that you cannot find anywhere else and so would shut down your supply chain,” American Chamber of Commerce in China president…
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