In a subtle but significant shift, both the United States and China are signalling an openness to reducing tariffs, marking a rare moment of de-escalation amidst heightened tensions in recent weeks.
On April 25, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was in talks with Chinese communist leader, Xi Jinping, something Chinese officials contest, however, when Trump was recently asked if he had spoken to Xi, he responded, “I don’t want to comment on that, but I’ve spoken to him numerous times.”
In an interview with Time earlier in the week, Trump said his administration is talking with China to strike a tariff deal, something Beijing denied again, however has signaled it would be easing tariffs on American goods, as well as implementing sweeping new initiatives to help ease the economic fall out of the trade war on the mainland.
On Friday, China’s politburo convened to discuss the country’s economy, which has being grappling with a collapsed property market, widespread unemployment, decreased domestic consumption and plummeting foreign investment since the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation which has only worsened following Trump’s imposition of, in come cases, tariffs of upwards of 245 percent.
According to the staterun communist media, Xinhua News Agency, a readout of the meeting said that China’s economy has shown a “positive trend” recently with increasing social confidence in 2025, however made the rare admission that “the impact of external shocks has increased.”
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Xi Jinping has announced plans to attempt to bolster China’s domestic economy to counteract the impacts of the trade war, including increasing unemployment support, raising incomes for low- to middle-income citizens, and supporting enterprise financing, with a focus on boosting domestic consumption and preparing for future external economic shocks.
Friday’s readout said, “We should take multiple measures to help enterprises in difficulties. We should strengthen financing support. We should accelerate the integration of domestic and foreign trade.”
The meeting occurred amidst reports that China’s communist authorities were considering walking back 125 percent retaliatory tariffs on a list of American products, including semiconductors.
“On Thursday, a Shenzhen-based supplier posted online that it had been notified by the customs agency that eight semiconductor products would no longer attract the 125 percent duty,” The Guardian reported.
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Trump may ease tariffs
According to a White House official, Washington is considering slashing its 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports, lowering the rate to somewhere between 50 and 65 percent in some cases, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report said that lawmakers stateside are considering a tiered approach to American tariffs on Chinese imports, with a minimum 100 percent tariff on crucial imports and a lower 35 percent levy on items that do not pose national security risks.
However, a White House official told the New York Post, that the Trump administration is not currently looking to unilaterally slash tariffs on China and that if it did, it would have to be the result of successful negotiations with Beijing.
Sources said that president Trump has yet to make a decision in the matter and that all options remain on the table.
White House spokesman, Kush Desai told The Post, “President Trump has been clear: China needs to make a deal with the United States of America. When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the President. Anything else is just pure speculation.”
In separate comments on Wednesday, Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury Secretary, reiterated that neither the U.S. or China believes that the current tariff regime is sustainable.
“As I said yesterday, this is the equivalent of embargo, and a break between the two countries in trade does not suit anyone’s interest,” Bessent said.
Later that day, Trump hinted that lower taxes on Chinese imports may be coming.
The 145 percent tariff rate on China is “very high, and it won’t be that high… No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially,” the U.S. president said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, recently said during a press conference, “China’s attitude towards the tariff war launched by the U.S. is quite clear: We don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open.”
