US wants to start tariff talks with China, says state media

BEIJING/WASHINGTON: The United States has approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump’s 145 percent tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Thursday, potentially signalling Beijing’s openness to negotiations.

“The US has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,” Yuyuan Tantian said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.

US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, also expressed hope for progress in easing trade tensions. Hassett told CNBC that there have been “loose discussions all over both governments” about the tariffs and China’s easing of duties on some US goods last week was a sign of progress.

Beijing has made little effort to contain its anger at the tariffs, which it says are tantamount to bullying and cannot stop the rise of the world’s second-largest economy. Instead, it has directed its fury at rallying public and global condemnation of the import curbs - showing no interest in a reprieve.

That said, alongside leveraging its propaganda machine to hit back at the duties, China has quietly created a list of US-made products it will exempt from its retaliatory 125 percent tariffs - including select pharmaceuticals, microchips and jet engines - Reuters has reported, to ease the duties’ impact.

Bessent mentioned no specific talks during a Fox Business Network interview, but said that high tariffs of 145 percent on the US side and 125 percent on the Chinese side needed to be de-escalated for negotiations to begin.