China announced a series of counter-tariffs on U.S. imports after President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports took effect.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to talk in “the next couple of days,” the White House said Monday.
Beijing said it would place a 15% levies on certain types of U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tax on other goods including crude oil and machinery. The measures take effect Feb. 10.
“China firmly opposed the US practice and urges the United States to correct its wrong practices immediately,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated.
For Julien Chaisse, the international economic law professor at the City University of Hong Kong, the February 10 start date for the counter-tariffs on the US is strategic and leaves room for diplomacy.
“It allows time for a possible discussion between Trump and Xi which is creating space for last-minute diplomacy before the measures take effect,” he said.
“Beijing likely wants to signal resolves without foreclosing the possibility of a negotiated off-ramp,”
“If talks between the two leaders occur in the coming days, there is room for adjustments, partial exemptions, or reciprocal gestures that could prevent a further spiral in trade tension.”
