China has urged renewed discussions with the United States after a planned call between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping was cancelled. This marks the first signs of the escalating trade war between the world’s largest economies.
Beijing reiterated its “resolute opposition” to US tariffs on its exports, calling instead for a “fair and mutually respectful dialogue” to address trade differences.
Both leaders cancelled their phone conversation on Tuesday after China announced retaliatory tariffs on American goods. Meanwhile, President Trump said he was in “no rush” to resume talks.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, voiced strong dissatisfaction with the new US tariffs, emphasising that Beijing’s measures were necessary to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. “There are no winners in a trade or tariff war,” he added.
These developments come as the trade conflict begins to impact the real economy. The US Postal Service recently announced a temporary suspension of parcels from China and Hong Kong after President Trump ended a trade provision that had allowed companies like Shein to ship low-value packages duty-free to the US.
Jim Reid, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, commented, “We’re starting to see some real economy impacts from the new tariffs, as evidenced by the USPS suspending inbound international packages from China.”
On Tuesday, in response to US tariffs of 10% on all imports from China, Beijing retaliated by imposing new tariffs on a range of items—from American crude oil to agricultural machinery.
