China opposes tariff deals made at expense of its interests

China firmly opposes any country entering into trade agreements with the United States that undermine Chinese interests in exchange for so-called tariff relief, the Ministry of Commerce said over the weekend.

If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and will take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday, responding to a media query about recent trade talks between the US and third-party economies.

The US has been pressuring its trade partners to accept "reciprocal tariffs" since April, the statement said, calling the move a typical example of unilateral bullying that undermines the multilateral trade system and disrupts the normal order of international trade.

China welcomes efforts by other countries to resolve trade disputes with the US through consultations on the basis of equality, the ministry said, urging all parties to uphold fairness and justice and jointly safeguard international trade rules and the multilateral trading system.

"It has been proved that only by firmly defending its principles and position can a country truly protect its legitimate rights," the statement added.

Yao Weiqun, a professor of international trade at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, said that China's response underscores its consistent position on defending its national interests while advocating multilateralism.

"By warning against trade-offs that compromise its core interests, China is sending a clear signal to the US and other countries involved that it will not tolerate coercive bargaining tactics that threaten its economic sovereignty," Yao said.

Shi Xiaoli, a professor of international trade law at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said that in an increasingly fragmented global trade landscape, China's approach of resolutely safeguarding its interests while urging others to defend multilateral trade rules demonstrates its willingness to engage constructively with the international community.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Commerce Ministry said that economic and trade delegations from China and the US recently confirmed the details of the framework for implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone talks on June 5 and for consolidating the outcomes of the economic and trade talks held in mid-May in Geneva, Switzerland.

The confirmation of these details came as the two sides maintained close communication following economic and trade talks held in London on June 9 and 10, the ministry said.

As a result, China will review and approve applications for the export of eligible controlled items in accordance with the law, while the US will remove a series of restrictive measures imposed on China, it added.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also said on Friday that the world's two largest economies had signed a deal earlier in the week.

Economists and business experts said the steps taken by China and the US to manage differences and stabilize their trade relations will give businesses more certainty.

If an agreement is reached between the US and China, it would enable the two countries to "obtain critical items from the other", said Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, adding that this would also avoid industrial shutdowns in both countries.

Z. John Zhang, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said, "There is no question that any good news about US-China trade will please Wall Street and business communities in both countries."

Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, told The Associated Press that "the US and China appear to be easing the chokeholds they had on each other's economies through export controls on computer chips and rare earth minerals, respectively".

"This is a positive step, but a far cry from signaling prospects of a substantial de-escalation of tariffs and other trade hostilities," he said.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn