As the United States and China battle over tariffs and the fate of the global economy hangs in the balance, the two sides don’t even agree on whether they’re engaged in negotiations.
We will admit right up front that we’re not necessarily experts on “The Art of the Deal,” but that doesn’t seem to bode well for an agreement any time soon.
President Donald Trump struck a notably more conciliatory tone regarding China yesterday. He told reporters that he would be “very nice” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the 145% tariffs he imposed on Chinese goods would come down substantially. He also said his administration was “doing fine” in negotiations with China and suggested that talks were active. China quickly responded: Nuh uh! To which Trump then said, Are so!
For the sake of journalistic accuracy, we should note that China’s actual response wasn’t quite so juvenile. “For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal,” a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry reportedly said. And a Commerce Ministry spokesman added: “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.”
The Commerce spokesman said China would be to dialogue based on mutual respect: “The unilateral tariff increase measures were initiated by the United States. If the United States really wants to solve the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”
Asked about China’s denial, Trump insisted that talks were happening. “They had a meeting this morning,” he said. Pressed for information on who was involved, he declined to provide any details, saying, “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.”
The bottom line: As markets wobble and concerns grow that Trump’s tariffs will lead to empty store shelves and a possible recession, there’s little indication that the Trump administration will be striking a quick trade deal with China. Beijing has vowed to fight to the end and is working to keep other countries from siding with the United States. Trump’s recent retreat, meanwhile, may not provide much certainty after months of upheaval.
“China called Mr. Trump’s bluff and seems to have won this round,” The Wall Street Journal’s pro-business editorial board wrote Wednesday evening. “The question going forward is whether Mr. Trump is internalizing these economic and political lessons or merely pausing to fight his trade war another day. We doubt even Mr. Trump knows the answer, since so much of his decision-making is ad hoc. He’ll keep his universal 10% tariff in any case.”