Beijing (TDI): It is difficult to say where the US, China tariff war is headed or who is more inclined to start talking. Most recently, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a frustrated comment, said that China is no more paying attention to Trump’s “numbers game.”
The comment came in response to the fact sheet issued by the White House which says that China now a faces export duty as high as 245%.
Last week, the Ministry of Finance of China made almost similar comments when it called the Trump tariffs as no more than a “joke.” The Ministry noted that the tariffs, which are making rounds in news headlines, carry no economic bearing.
The U.S. started the #tariffwar. China took necessary countermeasures to protect our rightful interests and international fairness and justice.
If the U.S. truly wants a negotiated solution, it should quit using maximum pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing China and seek… pic.twitter.com/C9kCytIOrt
— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) April 16, 2025
Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on around sixty countries on April 2, 2025, a day he dubbed as Liberation Day. As much as it first sounded like a unilateral aggressive measure, the execution of most of these tariffs has been halted until July.
Trump administration has entered into talks with many countries to renegotiate trade duties. However, with China, things are getting trickier by the day.
Most experts are now viewing Trump’s tariff move as an excuse to open trade talks and renegotiate the numbers but China insists that no talks are possible unless the US shows respect.
Trump is far from showing respect to China and is instead giving war threats, also maintaining that China should stop mocking the US and that a trade deal is possible if China makes the first move.
Read More: Trade Deal Possible if China Acts First: US
This sounds like a stalemate situation and economists are predicting a complete halt of trade between the two countries if tariffs are not decreased considerably.
An overall decline in global trade is also being projected by the World Bank, after the announcement of reciprocal tariffs by Trump.
The tariffs have heightened the risk of a Global Recession and as long as unpredictability reigns in China-US situation, the risk will only multiply.
“The stakes are extremely high and the only issue remaining is who is going to blink first,” Yasheng Huang, professor of global economics and management at MIT, told ABC News.
Nuzhat Rana is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
