U.S. urged to get back to equal dialogue

Tariffs: China, EU agree to strengthen collaboration

China has urged the United States to cancel its unilateral tariffs as quickly as possible, and get back on track to properly address differences through equal dialogue.

If the U.S. stubbornly pursues its course of a trade war, China will "fight till the end" to defend its legitimate rights and interests, Chinese officials said on Thursday.

They didn't specify whether Beijing will again raise tariffs on U.S. goods, which now stand at an additional 84 percent, in response to the latest decision by the U.S. on Wednesday to raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 percent.

The China Film Administration said on Thursday evening that the country — the world's second-largest film market — will moderately reduce the imports of U.S. films.

"The U.S. government's abuse of tariffs against China will inevitably lead to a further decline in the favorable perception of U.S. films among the Chinese audience," the administration said in an online statement. "We will adhere to the law of the market and respect the choices of the audience, and moderately reduce the number of U.S. films imported."

He Yongqian, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said at a news conference on Thursday, "Our position is consistent and clear — the door to dialogue is open, but any discussions must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality."

However, she stressed the abuse of pressure, threats and extortion is not the way to engage with China.

"We hope that the two countries will meet each other halfway and work toward resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, guided by the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation," she added.

She noted that the current bonded policies in the special supervision areas of China's free trade zones will still be applicable for U.S. goods, specifying that taxes will still need to be duly paid once the U.S. goods depart the designated areas and enter the Chinese market for sales.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was pausing his new tariffs for 90 days except on China.

Trump said on social media that he had "authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10 percent, also effective immediately". He did not specify which countries the pause would apply to, but he was clear that the levies would climb for China.

Gary Winslett, an assistant political science professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, said: "The 90-day pause is a step in the right direction, but the trade war with China is still bad, the universal 10 percent tariff is even worse, the on-again-off-again approach is bad for investment and jobs, and we further undermined geopolitical leadership with nothing to show for it."

Analysts noted that the Trump administration's 10 percent base tariff is still in place, suggesting that more rounds of tariff negotiations are ahead. The White House said that over 70 countries had come forward to negotiate tariffs this week.

Luo Zhenxing, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies, said that the U.S.' selective approach to different countries allows Washington to maintain its image, as removing tariffs across the board could be seen as a setback. In addition, it shows that the Trump administration is using tariffs as a tool and weapon, likely targeting China, Luo added.

Such moves by the U.S. have severely disrupted the global trade system. Regardless of future policy directions, key global trade principles like the WTO's nondiscrimination rule have been significantly undermined, potentially leading to a restructuring of global trade and even global financial systems, Luo said.

Lin Jian, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told a news conference on Thursday that China will never allow the international economic and trade rules and the multilateral trading system to be undermined.

The U.S. is placing its own interests above the legitimate interests of the rest of the world, sacrificing the just interests of all countries to serve its hegemonic ambitions, Lin said, adding that this will inevitably face stronger opposition from the international community.

China and the European Union have recently exchanged views on strengthening economic and trade cooperation in response to U.S. tariff hikes.

The latest move came as Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held a video call on Tuesday with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, during which they discussed various issues, including enhancing China-EU economic and trade cooperation and responses to the U.S. imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs", according to a statement released by the Commerce Ministry on Thursday.

Wang said that under current circumstances, China and the EU jointly upholding the rules-based multilateral trading system and staying committed to trade liberalization and facilitation will "inject more stability and certainty into the global economic and trade landscape".

According to the statement, the two sides agreed to immediately start negotiations on electric vehicle pricing commitments, and resume the China-EU trade remedy dialogue mechanism.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Thursday that China has the chance to establish a business environment that can provide the stability and reliability that investors require.

On the contrary, the U.S. is now rolling back on many of the principles that have underpinned its approach to global trade and investment, which has created unprecedented global economic uncertainty, the chamber said.