China's Commerce Minister Urges US to Halt Tariff War, Citing Progress
Beijing highlights recent diplomatic breakthroughs, asserting that "forced decoupling is impossible" and mutually beneficial trade can be stabilised
China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has called on the United States to avoid a return to tariff warfare, emphasising that recent negotiations in Europe demonstrate such conflict is unnecessary.
He urged Washington to act commensurately with its status as a global superpower and focus on stabilising the trade relationship.
According to Reuters, Wang highlighted the "ups and downs" in China-US relations as a clear indicator of their profound economic interdependence.
"Big countries should act like big countries; they must bear their own responsibilities," he asserted, reaffirming China's commitment to protecting its national interests.
Beijing faces an August 12 deadline to finalise a tariff agreement with the US, following a temporary truce brokered last month.
Failure to reach a deal this time could trigger fresh volatility across global supply chains, with US tariffs on Chinese goods potentially escalating to over 100%.
Wang stated that previous discussions in Geneva and London unequivocally showed that there was no need to revert to a trade war. "We have seen that direct dialogue between leaders and high-level communications can appropriately manage disagreements," he explained.
"We will continue to intensify dialogue and communication, seek deeper consensus, reduce misunderstandings, and strengthen cooperation to jointly bring China-US economic and trade relations back on track, to achieve sound, stable, and sustainable development," Wang added.
Customs data indicates that in June, China's exports of rare earth minerals increased by 32% from May. This suggests that an agreement reached in London last month to unblock trade in these critical metals is already yielding results.
Further bolstering optimism, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, announced at a Beijing event this week that Nvidia would resume selling H20 AI chips to China. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed this move was part of the broader rare earth negotiations.
Commenting on his meeting with Huang on Thursday, Wang said it was proof that "when the dust settles, everyone, especially the US side, has concluded that forced decoupling is impossible."
He noted that the current overall US tariff level on Chinese goods "remains high" at 53.6%. Analysts warn that any additional tariffs exceeding 35% could severely damage Chinese manufacturers' profitability.
"Both sides have understood that they need each other. The goods and services exchanged are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to replace in the short term," Wang concluded, reiterating his nation's stance: "China does not want a trade war, but it has never been afraid of one."
