Chinese officials disputed Monday they ever agreed to the “extravagant demands” the U.S. requested as part of a trade deal and said that further talks could only occur in an atmosphere of “mutual respect.”
President Trump and his officials have repeatedly claimed that they were close to a trade deal with Beijing at the end of April only to have China attempt to walk back several concessions at the last minute. This prompted the administration to hike all existing tariffs on Chinese goods to 25%, up from 10% in most cases, as a means to pressure China restore the concessions.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters Monday that Beijing had never agreed to concessions in the first place. “We don’t know what this agreement is the United States is talking about. Perhaps the United States has an agreement they all along had extravagant expectations for, but it’s certainly not a so-called agreement that China agreed to.”
Kang added that the U.S. tried “to achieve unreasonable interests through extreme pressure,” a tactic he claimed “wouldn’t work.” Future talks, he said, “can only follow the correct track of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit for there to be hope of success.”
In addition to raising its current tariffs, which cover $250 billion worth of goods, the Trump administration has also said it would place 25% tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of goods, effectively covering all Chinese imports, though Trump has indicated the decision hasn’t been finalized. Beijing said it would hike tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods to as high as 25% starting June 1.
President Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Japan at the G-20 summit in late June.
