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Beijing called on the United States to “completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures” if it wants commercial talks, in some of the strongest comments in China on the dead end between the two economic superpowers in the world.
Beijing also said on Thursday that there was “currently no economic and commercial negotiations between China and the United States”, despite recent signs of softening on Washington disputes. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in recent days That the trade war is “not sustainable” and “there should be a de -escalation on both sides”.
“Unilateral tariff measures have been launched by the United States,” said Yadong, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. “If the United States really wants to solve the problem, it should … completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China and find a means of resolving differences by an equal dialogue.”
Beijing argued that the United States had to take the first step to defuse the crisis, which threatens to trigger a hard decoupling between the economies of the two countries.
China Also said that its “door is open” to talks, but any insistence for the United States to unilaterally suppress its prices as a prior condition for negotiations would represent a significant hardening of its position.
In a tit-form climbing, US President Donald Trump this month stuck additional tariffs on China by 145% and Beijing responded with 125%-samples that declared a “embargo” on Tuesday.
Trump has since started to soften some of the measures, granting exemptions for smartphones, semiconductors and electronics and claiming that the United States and China were in direct contact “every day”.
On Tuesday, the president said that the prices would descend “substantially” and that an agreement would be concluded “fairly quickly”.
But the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday that all reports that China and the United States were approaching an agreement were “false news”.
“There was no consultation or negotiation between China and the United States concerning prices, not to mention an agreement,” said ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, he said that “the one who attached the bell (on the tiger) should be the only one to detach it”, a reference to a Chinese proverb which means that the person who creates a problem should be the one who solves it.
He said that Beijing had maintained “an open attitude towards consultations and dialogue”, but “pressure, threat and extortion are not the right ways to engage with China”.
“The trade war is the one that the United States has unilaterally prompted … If they want to negotiate, it must show sincerity and return to the good road to dialogue and equal consultations,” he said.
Bessent said on Tuesday that any de -escalation of the trade war should be mutual, denying the information that Trump could unilaterally reduce samples from Chinese products.
Chinese analysts argue that the American taxation of high prices makes Beijing difficult to find a way to defuse the crisis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping would find it difficult to get involved with Trump on the trade war unless this is preceded by in-depth negotiations to conclude an agreement, they say.
