US focus on raising tariffs to strain ties

Economists laud Beijing's diplomatic push, urge leaders' communication

China's leadership is pursuing a "charm offensive" domestically and internationally, while the United States remains focused on tariffs, an approach that US economist Stephen Roach described as "a tariff offensive".

Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute of Global Affairs and a senior lecturer at the Yale School of Management, said his firsthand experience in China reinforced that view.

"China's senior leadership is engaged in a fairly aggressive charm offensive, both domestically and internationally," he said.