China open to talks with US, but prepare to defend its rights, interests: govt

China's chief administrative authority the State Council released a white book April 9 to address escalating trade disputes with the US, signaling that it is open to talks with President Donald Trump's administration, even as the Ministry of Finance warned that if the US insists on aggravating the matter, China will definitely "fight to the end."

China will increase its tariffs on goods imported from the US to 84% from 34%, starting April 10, 12:01 Beijing time, the Ministry of Finance announced late April 9, as a retaliation to the US government's most recent move.

Beijing's move comes after US tariffs on its trading partners took effect from April 9, including scaled-up tariffs on China of 104%, which resulted in a broader selloff across financial markets and a continued decline in commodity prices including oil, gas and metals.

"The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China's legitimate rights and interests, seriously damages the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously impacts the stability of the global economic order. It is a typical example of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying," the Ministry of Finance said in the statement.

"China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect," the Finance Ministry added.

State Council's nearly 30,000-word white book was released shortly after the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 104%, aiming to defend China's contributions to the US economy and highlight the importance of restoring the normal order of global trade.

In China's context, a white book is an official document that systematically summarizes the country's stance on specific political issues.

In response to the US announcement that it would impose a 104% tariff on Chinese goods, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said April 9 that "we will continue to take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests," according to China's state news agency Xinhua.

"If the US really wants to solve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and reciprocity. If the US disregards the interests of the two countries and the international community and insists on fighting a tariff war and a trade war, China will definitely fight to the end," Lin said, according to Xinhua.

In 2024, bilateral trade between China and the US reached $688.28 billion, 275 times the level in 1979, when the two countries established diplomatic relations, and more than eight times the level in 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization, according to the white book.

US exports to China reached $143.55 billion in 2024, up 648.4% from $19.18 billion in 2001, far outpacing the 183.1% rise in US exports to the world during the same period, the white book said, citing UN statistics.

China is the largest export market for US soybeans and cotton, the second-largest export market for integrated circuits and coal and the third-largest export market for medical devices, LPG and automobiles, according to the white book.

The white book also said that a comprehensive and in-depth investigation is needed to assess whether China-US bilateral trade is balanced rather than simply focusing on a single benchmark, such as the balance of trade for goods.

It added that China's trade deficit in travel services with the US has consistently expanded, and its intellectual property payments to the US have also grown significantly over the past two decades.

Notably, the white book highlighted several key commodity sectors, including aluminum, steel, electric vehicles and agricultural products, pointing to China's key economic interests and potential focus areas in any future negotiations with the US government.

Commodity markets in focus

Some US products are not competitive in terms of price and safety, which affects Chinese companies' willingness to import them in a market-oriented manner, the white book said.

For agriculture, the white book said that in February 2020, China lifted the ban on certain US agricultural products and conditionally resumed trade in US beef, poultry and dairy products. Following that, China continued to import from the country "despite various problems caused by the US."

Compared with US soybeans, South American soybeans have a more noticeable price advantage. The price of US beef is about 50% higher than that of South American beef, and US rice is not competitive in terms of quality, appearance, taste, price, etc., compared with rice from relevant Southeast Asian countries.

In February 2020, the import price of US rice was about Yuan 3,000/mt and Yuan 3,500/mt higher than that of Thai and Vietnamese rice, respectively, according to the white book.

For electric vehicles, the white book highlighted China's vast market and ever-increasing consumer demand, noting that Tesla's sales in the country continued to grow, exceeding 657,000 vehicles in 2024, up 8.8% year over year and setting a new record.

For steel and aluminum, the white book said that "the US government previously imposed Section 232 restrictive trade measures to defend its national security." As a result, China and the EU resorted to the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism over the restrictive measures on imported steel and aluminum products.

This could suggest that China might adopt similar approaches for tariff-related disputes, collaborating with countries that share common political and economic interests to appeal to the WTO, a Beijing-based policy researcher told Platts, a part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"There are no winners in a trade war, and there is no way out for protectionism. The success of China and the US is an opportunity for both sides, not a threat," the white book concluded.

"We hope that the US and China will meet each other halfway, follow the direction indicated in the call between the two heads of state, uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, resolve each other's concerns through equal dialogue and consultation and jointly promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations."

The white book did not specify when the two heads of state had a call.