After the new escalation in the trade war between China and the United States, both sides decided to try to reduce tension, at least in public statements, and seek dialogue. From Biarritz, France, where he attends the G7 summit, US President Donald Trump has reduced the tone of his pyrotechnic statements this weekend and said China has expressed a desire to resume bilateral talks planned for the next Monday. Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, the head of his country's delegation in these talks, emphasized that a climb "would be detrimental to all" and called for "quiet negotiation".
"They called us and we will start negotiating soon, and we will see what happens," Trump said on Monday in Biarritz. The Republican described Chinese President Xi Jinping as "a great leader" and added that "one of the reasons which is why China is a great country understands how life works. "
The deal they could both reach "will be magnificent for the United States and will be magnificent for the world," Trump added.
In stark contrast to the fact that on Friday, in a series of incendiary tweets, he wondered if the Chinese president was America's worst enemy, he announced an even higher than expected tariff increase for Chinese products ( five points more) and ordered the companies in his country to look for alternatives to China as a place to manufacture their products.
On Sunday, on the second day of the summit, Trump sowed confusion by saying that he had doubts about the escalation of the trade war. A spokeswoman later clarified that the doubts were not about reversing the escalation, but about the need to further intensify tariff increases.
The apparent shift in Trump's attitude made the Chinese Government choose to be more conciliatory. If over the weekend the Ministry of Commerce warned that the United States would bear "the consequences" if it did not "correct its mistakes," at a congress in central Chongqing, Liu emphasized that China "strongly opposes a "in the trade war." "It would not benefit China or the United States or the rest of the world," he said.
Trump's incendiary statements on Friday came after Beijing announced new 5 percent and 10 percent tariffs on US $ 75 billion (US $ 312 billion) and other up to $ 25 billion. % to US cars, which it previously exempted as a sign of goodwill. In turn, the Beijing initiative was in response to Washington's decision in August to raise rates on about $ 300 billion ($ 1.25 trillion) of its purchases from China.
At its daily news conference, China's Foreign Ministry did not confirm whether, as Trump said, there was telephone contact between the negotiating teams on Sunday. But spokesman Geng Shuang insisted that the two countries must resolve their differences through dialogue.
If the dispute cannot be resolved and the United States continues its threats of new tariffs and the departure of Chinese companies, "Beijing will continue to take steps to protect our legitimate rights and interests," Geng emphasized. The spokesman also said that in the case of a commercial and technological divorce between the two powers, China "has ample room for maneuver" and may bridge the gap left by the United States with other markets. "Separation is not a good way to ease tensions," he added.
Meanwhile, amid fears of a rising confrontation, the yuan responded on Monday to the horizon of new tariffs with a sharp decline, and its price reached the lowest level in 11 years against the dollar. In the offshore market, they offered up to 7,187 yuan per dollar, but then rebounded to 7,162 following Trump's milder comments; onshore, it retreated to 7,150, its lowest since 2008.
