China open to talks with US amid tariff war, wants Trump admin to show respect

China has reportedly said that it will be open to talks with the United States (US) but wants the US administration to show more respect amid disparaging remarks by members of its cabinet. This comes even as US President Donald Trump's administration announced a sweeping new tariff of up to 245% on Chinese imports, sharply escalating the trade conflict between the United States and China.

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Other conditions include a more consistent US position and a willingness to address China’s concerns around American sanctions and Taiwan, as per a report in Bloomberg.

Earlier on Friday (Apr 11), US President Donald Trump said that he is now "optimistic" about striking a deal with China. Furthur, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement that she said Trump had dictated: "The ball is in China's court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don't have to make a deal with them." Meanwhile, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told the head of the World Trade Organization that US tariffs will "inflict serious harm" on poor nations.

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China-US tariff war

China had a pre-existing 67 per cent tariff on US goods, while the US charged 10 per cent. However, on 'Liberation Day', US President Donald Trump announced ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and imposed 104 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods. China hit back with 84 per cent tariffs as a retaliatory measure in place of 34 per cent that it had already announced. On April 9, Trump paused tariffs for all countries for 90 days but increased China's tariff to 145%. In retaliation, China slapped fresh tariffs of 125 per cent on April 11 and said that it would "ignore" further tariff hikes by Trump.

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Previously, in February, the US announced 10 per cent tariffs on China. Beijing retaliated with a 15 per cent tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10 per cent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-displacement cars.

The US then raised tariffs by another 10 per cent, bringing levies against Chinese imports to 20 per cent. China retaliated by imposing a 15 per cent tariff on US chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and a 10 per cent tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.