China’s Commerce Department called the US tariff exemption “a small step,” urging President Donald Trump to “abolize” mutual tariffs, including a 145% obligation on Chinese imports.
“We are urging people to listen to the reasonable voices of the international community and domestic political parties, to make great progress in correcting mistakes, to completely abolish the illegal actions of “mutual tariffs” and to return to the right path to resolving differences through equal dialogue based on mutual respect,” according to a CNBC translation, in a statement online.
The ministry also said China will “assess the relevant impacts” of the tariff exemption on some technology products announced late Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday “for now” that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have no plans to talk about.
“This issue is really at the leader level,” he said he faces CBS News public.
China’s response to US tariffs can be seen on both state and social media. As Trump is retreating, recent exemptions have been presented domestically, with further evidence that China’s supply chains cannot be easily replaced by US companies.
“Public opinion broadly sees this as another retreat by the US government on tariff policy,” the Beijing official wrote.
On China’s popular social media platform Weibo, the hashtag “Trump administration retreats again” ranked second on the hot search list.
Late Friday, the Trump administration exempted widely used technical devices and components from mutual tariffs, including smartphones, computers, semiconductors, solar cells and flash drives, following guidance from US customs and border protection.
The move was seen as a major victory for high-tech giants, including Apple, which manufactures many products in China. However, CNBC has said that the long-term impact of China’s tariffs on the US economy and small businesses, previously reported by CNBC, could be irreversible.
Despite the announcement of tariff exemptions, the 20% tariff on all Chinese products remains in effect.
– CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report
