China shows goodwill via tariff exemptions
China removed on Wednesday 16 categories of items from the list of US products that had faced extra tariffs, including shrimp and pawn seedlings, lubricating base oil and medical linear accelerators. The measure will benefit some companies from China and the US.
In accordance with its existing system, the US has successively removed eight batches of Chinese products from its tariff list.
For China, granting tariff exemptions on US goods is an innovation of the tariff system. This is the first time China has provided tariff exemptions since May. Subsequent lists will be declared in due time.
The exemption of some US products from the tariff list would effectively mitigate the impact of the US-launched trade war against China on involved Chinese companies. It is also a positive sign to Chinese people’s livelihood.
The China-US trade war has fully escalated with its impact clearly being felt by the two countries and the world. Beijing and Washington agreed to hold the 13th round of trade consultations in early October, saying they will keep working-level communication and work hard for making substantial progress in this round of talks. The two countries are at a crossroads either to make breakthroughs or to escalate the tensions until the situation spirals out of control.
China’s attitude toward the trade war is consistent. “We don’t want this fight, but we are not afraid of it and we will fight if necessary.” More importantly, Chinese society is taking the trade war calmly.
As pressure on China increases, Chinese people are more united, giving more trust in their government.
We believe the US has understood China more than ever in the past one and a half years. The US side should have abandoned the illusion of crushing China with maximum pressure. To achieve a soft landing in the trade war, the US side is facing a dilemma of balancing their pursuit for trade interests and the complicated political game within the US.
A prolonged trade war will only end up hurting both countries’ interests. It is a rational move for the two countries to stop the losses in a fair way. This is also the real wish of their peoples.
The US side has been advocating how the trade war has been benefiting the US, which is electoral politics. There are signs of a recession in the US economy. Flaunting that the current economy is “the greatest economy in the history of America” won’t help Washington gain an advantage in the consultations.
China has always been active in the trade talks. We know the trade war has consumed too much and meaningless to continue. China is willing to work with the US to reach a final deal that both countries accept.
But China will never give up the right to say “but.” If Washington tries once more to open the way for a deal unilaterally favorable to the US through a maximum pressure campaign, Beijing will take it easy and take on the US to the end.
Some people would link the timing of China exempting some US products from the tariff list to the coming trade talks. That is the way China handles issues.
Consultations must be based on goodwill to achieve deals. In Eastern philosophy, goodwill means strength and confidence rather than weakness or compliance. Only two-way goodwill can help the two countries make achievements that benefit their peoples and the world.