Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng expressed his country’s “serious concern” over US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose additional tariffs on imports from China during a phone call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant today.
Since the start of his second term in January, the US president has used tariffs as a main tool to reduce the US’s large trade deficit.
In early February, he imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on all products from China, which has the largest trade surplus with the US in goods, of $295.4 billion in 2024, according to the US Treasury Department.
In response to the US measure, Beijing imposed a 15 percent tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10 percent tariff on oil and other US goods such as agricultural machinery and vehicles. However, these measures are proportionally much smaller than the US measures imposed on China.
On Wednesday, Trump assessed that a trade agreement with China was “possible”, and China’s CCTV reported today that “the two sides exchanged views on a possible consensus”.
According to the television, in a phone call at the request of the US, the two officials stressed the importance of China-US economic and trade relations and agreed to continue communication on issues of concern to both sides.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called for a reduction in tensions and told reporters that “there are no winners in trade and tariff wars that only harm the interests of people around the world.”
China and the US should resolve their problems “through dialogue and consultation based on equality and mutual respect,” he added.
