Signal from China: US open to starting tariff discussions

TRADE TURMOIL | Development an indication of Beijing softening its stance although it had likened yielding to Trump’s decisions as “drinking poison”

Agencies BEIJING 

The United States has approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Thursday, potentially signalling Beijing's openness to negotiations. "The U.S. has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue," Yuyuan Tantian said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.

Beijing has 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.

That said, alongside leveraging its propaganda machine to hit back at the duties, China has quietly created a list of U.S.-made products it will exempt from its retaliatory 125% tariffs - including select pharmaceuticals, microchips and jet engines - Reuters has reported, to ease the duties' impact.

Once Trump's tariffs topped 35% they became prohibitively high for Chinese exporters. Nomura Securities said that some 16 million Chinese people could lose their jobs once the long-term ripple effects of a 50% drop in Chinese exports to the U.S. work their way through the economy.

Still, Beijing has been adamant it will stand and fight, rather than rush to the negotiation table - with the foreign ministry likening yielding to Trump's tariffs to "drinking poison." "Before the U.S. takes any substantive action, China has no need to engage in talks with the U.S.," the post from Yuyuan Tantian added, citing anonymous experts. "However, if the U.S. wishes to initiate contact, there is no harm at this stage for China to engage."

"China needs to observe closely, even force out the U.S.' true intentions, to maintain the initiative in both negotiation and confrontation," it concluded. Trump said in a U.S. media interview published last Friday that his administration was talking with China to reach a tariff deal and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him. Beijing last week repeatedly denied such talks were taking place.