Beijing has called on the US to “completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures” if it wants trade talks, in some of China’s strongest comments yet on the impasse between the world’s two economic superpowers.

“The unilateral tariff measures were initiated by the US,” said He Yadong, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson. “If the US truly wants to solve the problem, it should . . . completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China and find a way to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”

Beijing has maintained that the US must make the first move to de-escalate the crisis, which is threatening to spark a hard decoupling between the two countries’ economies.

Chinese analysts argue that the US imposition of high tariffs make it difficult for Beijing to find a way to defuse the crisis.

China’s President Xi Jinping would find it difficult to engage personally with Trump on the trade war unless this was preceded by extensive negotiations to hammer out a deal, they say.

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  • Wilco@lemm.ee
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    1 hour ago

    Now Trump has a lever to pull for more insider trading. He will let the economy crumble for a while longer, then tell his friends “now is the time to invest” and then agree to remove all tariffs a few hours later. Then the economy will recover sharply from the insider trading spike and fall again when these vulture capitalists are done.

  • lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    When trump finally caves and has to kiss Xi’s ass, every newspaper headline better fucking be “the art of the deal”

  • CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net
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    5 hours ago

    I’m no defender of China, but this seems like common sense. If you shat on my front lawn, I’d expect you clean it up before we talk about modifying our shared fence.

    • zephorah@lemm.ee
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      4 hours ago

      You can’t negotiate with a narcissistic personality disorder, not when they’ll deny the shit is from their dog even when captured on camera. Either way, they’ll factor in a way for the occurrence of the shit to be your fault and therefore your problem to clean up.

      • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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        4 hours ago

        Sure, but now the shit-taker wants a favour from the shit-reciever who is having none of it until the shit is cleaned up. So now we get to watch the shit-taker squirm and writhe while they try to figure out how to untake their shit without looking like the complete idiot that they clearly are.

  • Dotcom@lemmy.ml
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    5 hours ago

    Sure seems like the “great negotiator” is the one who is having to answer demands

    • ef9357@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      It’s “the art of the deal”. Create a big stink, then capitulate. Trump’s genius is truly mind boggling.

  • Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
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    4 hours ago

    Absolutely not. If we’re going to be on the aggressive path, we need to stay the course. There are demands in place. Either they’re met, or it keeps going - up to and including a complete embargo on Chinese goods, while we continue to discuss the situations with HK and Taiwan ROC separately.

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      2 hours ago

      Y’all should get rid of Trump and his… entourage, tell everyone “sorry, this was all a big mistake, grandpa’s gone a bit crazy with old age, let’s forget all this nonsense”, it’s the only way to gain back some of the influence you lost.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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      4 hours ago

      Given that China isn’t going to cave, what you’re saying here is that you think the US should tank its economy by doubling down. Sounds like you’re well qualified for a job at the White House.

    • freagle@lemmygrad.ml
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      4 hours ago

      we need to stay the course

      Sunk cost fallacy. The trade war is a collossal mistake on the part of the US. It can accomplish nothing. Trump’s entire strategy was based on the idea of tarrifs being more undesirable for his opponents than for him. He was wrong.

      China is not worried if the US issues a full embargo on Chinese exports to the USA. China’s focus is on the rest of the world when it comes to trade and it’s only focus on the US is worrying about US military adventures that it needs to defend against.

      As for Hong Kong, you mean the city that England stole from China when they devastated them after getting half their people addicted to opium because it was the only thing the English could figure out how to sell? You mean the city that was run as an oppressive colony by brutal British governors until they realized they were finally going to have to give the city back and then decided to do a complete propaganda/indoctrination move, enrich token Hong Kongers, “enhance” the already existing indoctrination in schools that worshipped British “civilization” and propagandized their captive audience to fear and loathe their own countrymen? That Hong Kong situation that China has successfully worked through so far in a processes of integration, deradicalization, and respect? That situation? Where the protests in Hong Kong saw protestors throwing fire bombs at police force weeks on end but never escalated into a police riot like what happens in the US? That situation?