If the commercial war between China and the United States is a high -risk Brinkmanship game, it is currently a game that Beijing is not willing to play.
Given the growing statements of President Trump and the administration officials that the two countries are involved in conversations and that an agreement could be reached in a matter of weeks, the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs receded strongly over the Xation. The United States must stop creating confusion. “
The position occurred hours after a spokesman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, said that the United States was “accelerating the public.” A day before, Mr. Guo described the rumors of “false news” conversations.
The answer was the last sign that the main leader of China, Xi Jinping, intends to stand firm in his confrontation with Mr. Trump, feeling that his position is being strengthened. Beijing is betting that he can withstand the pain of a commercial war better than the Trump administration because or the political pressure and volatility of the United States on Wall Street, analysts say.
“The Chinese are not eager to lower the staircase,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington. “Come to Trump Ashing to go down and are happy to let him guide themselves in their own juice.”
Mrs. Sun said that Beijing will not come to the negotiating table without any US concession or a gesture of good will. That could include the reduction of tariffs, or making it clear that Trump approaches Mr. XI first.
“Beijing has the advantage, why bother to extend your hand?” Mrs. Sun said. “If the USY speaks, you will have to pay a price.”
In an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, Trump said Xi had called it and that the two were trying to reach a rate agreement.
“I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness about yours,” Trump or Mr. Xis said, in accordance with the article.
China has not said that Mr. XI has spoken with Mr. Trump from a call they celebrated on January 17, three days before Trump’s possession.
It is not the first time that Trump claims to have talked to the Chinese leader since he returned to the White House. In February, he told Fox News Bret Baier in an interview that he and Mr. XI had spoken at some point after the call of January 17.
China, who has imposed his own amazing tariffs on American goods in retaliation, has repeatedly said that he is open to commercial negotiations, but that would not do it under coercion. The United States needs to treat China with respect, the authorities have said, and added that Beijing is willing to “fight until the end” if necessary.
China’s hard position reflects that Mr. XIS needs to project a strong man image against the Trump administration. The Chinese leader sees himself as a transformative figure that restores glory to his country against Western harassment, namely for the United States.
Unlike the duration of the Trump’s first administration, China believes that it is better prepared to fight in a commercial war because or a variety of new economic tools such as export controls. Earlier this month, in response to a new round of American tariffs, China restricted US access to critical rare earth materials necessary to produce missiles, batteries and semiconductors. China dominates the market of rare earth elements, while the attempts of the United States to find alternative sources are still in years to bear fruit.
“Beijing believes that its control over the strange minerals of the Earth is a crucial component of its arsenal in the commercial war with the United States,” said Eswar Prasad, an economist focused on international trade at the University of Cornell. “Beijing knows well that restricting access to these minerals would severely alter the high -tech manufacturing of the United States, causing significant pain to the most dynamic parts of the manufacturing sector of the United States.”
A prolonged commercial war would prove the leadership of Mr. XI by inflicting a serious pain to the Chinese economy, which has already determined a real estate crisis and a weak consumer confidence. Exports are still one of the only growth engines for China, and the United States is the largest individual export market in the country.
In a sign that China is already feeling the sting of the commercial war, the Chinese government is apparently considering whether to exclude some essential products of its retaliation of 125 percent of the rates of US goods, including drugs that come out lives and other medical care products, according to the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce.
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