AsianFin -- A report on Friday suggested China’s willingness to start trade negotiations with the U.S., increasing signs of easing trade tension.
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China is thinking about ways to address the White House’s concerns about the role plays in the fentanyl crisis, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
The people said Wang Xiaohong, China's public security minister, recently has been inquiring about what the Trump administration would want the country to do regarding its production of chemical ingredients that are used to make fentanyl. It was said that Beijing considered sending Wang to the U.S. to meet with senior Trump officials, or arranging his meeting with U.S. counterparts in a third country.
The sources cautioned the discussions are still fluid and noting China would like to see some softening from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has taken a hard-line stance on trade with China.
Earlier Friday, China has expressed its position in a clear shift in tone. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in the statement China is currently evaluating the situation, as the United States has recently reached out through relevant channels multiple times, expressing a desire to engage in talks with China over tariff issues.
In the meantime, China repeated its calling for Washington to remove its hefty tariffs, as part of efforts to show its “sincerity”.
China's position has been consistent -- if forced to fight, China will fight to the end, and for talks, the door is open, a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
The tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the United States, and if it wants to negotiate, it must demonstrate sincerity by making preparations and taking concrete actions, such as correcting its erroneous practices and lifting the unilateral tariffs, said the statement.
Noting that China has noticed the U.S. side constantly talking about adjustments to its tariff measures, the spokesperson said that "in any potential dialogue or talks, if the United States does not rectify its erroneous unilateral tariff measures, it would demonstrate a complete lack of sincerity and further undermine mutual trust."
Friday also saw a report about China’s tariff exemptions for some U.S. goods, though has not been officially confirmed. China has quietly started to grant tariff exemptions for some U.S. goods under a list products that covers 131 items like pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The 131 items are worth about $40 billion, accounting for around 24% of Chinese imports from the U.S. last year, according to calculations based on China customs data.
Trump and his team these days repeated signaled they are talking with Chinese counterparts, but Beijing insisted there is no such talks yet.
There have not been any economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States, said He Yadong, a MOFCOM spokesperson on April 24, adding that any claims of progress in economic and trade talks between the two countries are groundless and have no factual basis.
“None of that is true. For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun when asked about the U.S. claims that China and U.S. are having talks and even about to reach a deal.
At a press conference on April 25, Guo was questioned by whether the Trump administration tried to reach out to Beijing and if so, is China willing to engage in trade talks. "China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs. The U.S. should stop creating confusion," Guo stated.
