Trump keeps China guessing on tariff threats
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Donald Trump’s criticism of China on the campaign trail and after his election had raised the specter that Day 1 of his second presidency would reignite a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
As he took office this week, President Trump deferred the threat of tariffs and expressed a willingness to talk business with China’s leader, postponing what appeared to be a looming clash—while repeating threats to take action against Beijing in matters of trade, technology and security. From China’s perspective, “this is a very positive start," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank, and an adviser to the Chinese government.
Trump directed federal agencies to evaluate the economic relationship with China, rather than impose tariffs immediately as he had threatened. He signed off on giving TikTok more time to figure out how to keep operating in the U.S., after the Chinese-owned app briefly went dark under threat of a permanent ban.
Trump also said he might visit China this year, having spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week. Xi had sent his vice president to witness Monday’s inauguration, in what was seen as a goodwill gesture after receiving Trump’s invitation to the event.
Trump, meanwhile, restated allegations that Beijing has behaved unfairly in areas such as trade and climate, called for more Chinese cooperation in ending the Ukraine war and stopping fentanyl flows into the U.S., and warned that he could impose a 10% tariff on imports from China starting February. Beijing, for its part, expressed willingness to engage the Trump administration, while it continued to criticize what it characterized as American
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