China ‘evaluating’ possible trade talks with U.S.

China on Friday gave another signal that it is willing to open trade talks with the United States, as the economic pain of an ongoing tariff war is increasingly felt on both sides.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Beijing had taken note of comments by senior U.S. officials expressing “their willingness to negotiate with China on tariffs.”

“At the same time, the U.S. has recently sent messages to China through relevant parties many times, hoping to talk with China,” the spokesperson added. “China is currently evaluating this.”

Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January and restarted a trade war with China, Beijing has responded aggressively, matching the U.S. tariff for tariff and attempting to rally other countries to defy what China regards as U.S. “bullying.”

After Mr. Trump paused most of his “Liberation Day” tariffs on almost all of Washington’s trading partners, some of his advisers had tried to paint this as a deliberate strategy to isolate Beijing, suggesting the U.S. would not drop its 145-per-cent-tariff on Chinese goods and might even pressure other countries to adopt similar measures as a price for avoiding U.S. tariffs.

But turbulence in the stock market and U.S. treasuries, and increasing dismay among the American public about the potential cost of tariffs on Chinese goods to U.S. consumers, has prompted an apparent climb-down by the White House.

Late last month, Mr. Trump said a trade deal could happen “pretty quickly,” and promised not to “play hardball” during negotiations with China.

“They’re gonna do very well, and I think they’re going to be happy, and we’re gonna live together very happily and ideally work together,” he said.

Speaking to Fox Business on Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was “confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal.”

“First, we need to de-escalate, and then over time, we will start focusing on a larger trade deal,” he said.

In a separate interview with CNBC, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said there had been already “loose discussions all over both governments,” though Beijing has previously rebutted claims that talks had begun.

In its statement Friday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry suggested it was waiting for Washington to make the first move, before any formal negotiations can begin.

“We have noticed that the United States has been leaking information about adjusting tariff measures recently,” the spokesperson said. “China wants to emphasize is that in any possible dialogue or talks, if the United States does not correct its wrong unilateral tariff measures, it means that the United States has no sincerity at all and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides.”

“Saying one thing and doing another, or even trying to coerce and blackmail under the guise of talks, will not work with China,” they added.

Earlier this week, the country’s foreign ministry posted a video to social media vowing to never “kneel down” to U.S. pressure.

“Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst – it only deepens the crisis,” the video said, urging other countries to defy Washington as well.

“China will stand firm, no matter how hard the wind blows. Someone has to step forward, torch in hand to shatter the fog and illuminate the path ahead.”

But despite Beijing’s aggressive rhetoric and insistence it can weather the economic pain of a prolonged trade war, the impact of Mr. Trump’s tariffs are beginning to be felt. Factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in 16 months in April, data showed this week.

International banks and financial institutions have all cut their forecasts for China’s growth this year, with only Beijing confident that it can hit its stated target of “around 5 per cent,” and most independent analysts estimating the country will miss this by as much as two percentage points.