China 'evaluating' tariff talks with US, warns against 'extortion'
Iran Press TV
Friday, 02 May 2025 7:05 PM
China says it is "evaluating" an offer to engage in negotiations with the United States over US President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs, but warned that it is not going to entertain "extortion and coercion."
China's Commerce Ministry announced on Friday that "the US has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China," adding that Beijing was "evaluating this."
China denied claims made by US officials that talks were already underway or that China had initiated them.
Trump said last week that China's President Xi Jinping had called him. China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement afterwards, warning the US against "misleading the public" on the status of negotiations.
While emphasizing the necessity for the US administration to take action in "correcting erroneous practices" and cancel unilateral tariffs, the Chinese ministry said that Washington needed to show "sincerity" in negotiations, and that Beijing's door was open for discussions.
"Attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work," the ministry added.
Beijing has repeatedly expressed its anger at the tariffs, saying they are tantamount to bullying and cannot stop the rise of the world's second-largest economy.
US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, have expressed hope for progress in de-escalating the trade war.
"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 ... we will start focusing on a larger trade deal," Bessent said in an interview.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he believed there was a "very good chance" his administration could do a deal with China, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping called on officials to take action to adjust to changes in the international environment.
In April, China responded to the US tariffs on many Chinese products by issuing levies on imports of US goods of 125%, calling Trump's extremist tariff strategy "a joke."
US officials expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with China, while Trump's administration on Friday ended an exemption for goods from China.
The policy, known as "de minimis," allowed goods below $800 to enter the US without tariffs.
As a result, many Chinese e-commerce companies and exporters can no longer ship low-value products to US buyers without paying tariffs.
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