Following President Trump’s allegations, China firmly held that it was in fact the U.S. imposing a series of ‘discriminatory restrictive measures.’ After a fruitful gathering in Geneva, the U.S. and China reached an agreement to halt their trade disagreements momentarily. China started the week by asserting that contrary to President Trump’s assertions, the recently established trade truce has been ‘seriously undermined’ by the U.S.
Facing President Trump’s recent accusations on social media, considered ‘baseless’ by China, the country’s Ministry of Commerce took a resolute stance. Contrary to President Trump’s allegations of Beijing reneging on the trade deal conditions – a temporary suspension of tariffs and trade barriers aimed at preventing a full-blown trade conflict – the Ministry insisted they have held their side of the bargain responsibly.
Strongly countering the accusations, China’s Commerce Ministry stated that the U.S. made ‘erroneous practices’ by implementing a series of ‘discriminatory restrictive measures.’ A few of the notable points of contention were the limits imposed on the trade of chip design software to China and the prohibition of the American businesses from using or financing AI chips of Chinese tech behemoth, Huawei.
The Trump administration’s recently announced intentions to ‘aggressively revoke’ the visas of Chinese students didn’t receive a warm response. The decision to step up screening for all forthcoming applications from China, including Hong such as Kong, set a new point of disagreement.
China’s statement characterized the U.S action as a one-sided intensification of trade frictions, which is greatly fueling the uncertainty and instability of the bilateral economic and trade relations. It also suggested that instead of self-reflection on its actions, the U.S. has wrongly shifted the blame onto China.
Strongly emphasizing its stance, China stated that it would take necessary steps to ‘safeguard its legitimate rights and interests’ if the U.S. continues to undermine Chinese interests. The edgy stand-off over the delicate trade truce between the two biggest global economies brought up concerns whether both sides can establish a permanent agreement within the agreed 90-day timeline.
The U.S., for its part, has shown mounting concerns regarding access to rare earth magnets, which are incredibly essential for manufacturing cars, semiconductors, aircraft, and other significant articles. China controls almost the entire production of these rare earth metals.
There are speculations that the continuity of the U.S. factories could be at a potential risk without sufficient supply of these magnets. The U.S. trade representative stated last Friday that China was ‘slow-rolling their compliance’ and the supply of certain crucial minerals has not yet reached the expected levels.
On May 12, the agreement was announced which proposed a brief respite to the growing trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Prior to this, the U.S. had heightened tariffs on imports from China to 145 percent, and China had responded by adding import duties on American products to 125 percent.
Under the new truce, the U.S. accepted a reduction of its tariffs down to 30%, while China reciprocated this step by lowering its import tax to a nominal 10% for a period of 90 days. This gesture of conciliation dampened the escalating trade malaise and brought much-needed relief to global economic observers.
President Trump, however, did not fail to assert his robust position. He did not hesitate to call out perceived discrepancies of the Chinese counterparts, implicitly demonstrating the firmness of U.S. standing on the international trade landscape.
The Trump administration continuously demonstrates its unwavering focus on protecting American interests. Especially in areas as crucial as access to vital resources like rare earth magnets and maintaining an equitable balance in international trade.
In the global marketplace, where the U.S. needs to preserve its interests and hegemony over economic dynamics, the administration under President Trump looks stronger than ever. His ability to consistently place American interests first demonstrates the new norm of a more self-assured and assertive approach!