US President Donald Trump, fresh off Marine One, landed at Leesburg Executive Airport Landing Zone in Leesburg, Virginia on April 24, 2025. Trump confirmed ongoing trade talks with China despite Beijing saying there weren’t any. “They had a meeting this morning … It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” Trump told reporters. Not really sure why this matters, but Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at tensions easing with China this week. The White House slapped 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, leading Beijing to respond with its own tariffs and more restrictions on critical minerals exports to the U.S.
The Commerce Ministry emphasized efforts to help companies sell goods meant for exports to the Chinese market instead. “From China’s perspective, any meaningful negotiations will likely require the US to reduce tariffs to the previous 20% or even lower level,” said Jianwei Xu, senior economist for Greater China, at Natixis. But maybe it’s just me, but reducing tariffs too far could raise uncomfortable questions for the Trump administration: What was the point of the confrontation if we end up back where we started? China threatened countermeasures against countries that might make deals with the U.S. at the expense of Beijing’s interests. I wouldn’t be surprised if China adopts a more hawkish stance if the U.S. continues to escalate tensions. Wall Street banks have cut their China GDP outlook in light of the tariffs and escalating tensions with the U.S. China is looking for the U.S. to treat them as an equal in trade talks.
