Trump’s trade war with China in focus ahead of May summit
- Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May during his first visit to China in eight years
BEIJING: US President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May during his first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip that comes just a year after Washington rolled out sweeping and at times erratic global tariffs.
The confrontation between the world’s two top economies has evolved from slapping tit-for-tat tariffs to managing tensions following numerous rounds of trade talks, as well as phone calls and a meeting between their presidents last year.
Developments this year
MARCH - U.S. launches new Section 301 unfair-trade probes into Chinese industries. China responds with reciprocal investigations. Plans for a summit between Trump and President Xi Jinping were underway but Trump delays Beijing visit to mid-May as the Iran war continues.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang in Paris for a sixth round of talks that both sides described as “constructive.”
February- US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s global tariff regime. Trump indicates he will still use tariffs.
January - China ends 2025 with a record trade surplus, likely reaping dividends from having redirected trade to Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America as a decline in exports to the U.S. accelerated.
Key developments in 2025
October - China flexes its dominance on critical minerals, widening export controls to include more rare earth elements and increasing scrutiny on semiconductor users.
US layers another 100% duty on Chinese imports and introduces export controls on critical software. Both countries also target each other’s shipping industry.
Trump and Xi then meet in Busan, South Korea, agreeing to a new trade truce. Washington would trim tariffs while Beijing would target the illicit fentanyl trade, resume U.S. soybean purchases and pause the rare earth export curbs.
September - U.S. and China discuss TikTok divestiture. U.S. pushes to talk about trade of chemicals, aircraft engines and parts with China.
June-August - Trump says trade truce was back on track after some Chinese rare earth magnet producers begin to receive export licences. U.S. starts issuing licences to Nvidia to export its advanced artificial intelligence chips to China, while Trump urges China to quadruple U.S. soybean purchases. Tariff truce was extended another 90 days.
May - At the first round of trade talks, held in Geneva, both sides strike a 90-day truce that allowed lofty tariffs to come down. Three weeks later, Trump says China violated an agreement to mutually roll back tariffs and ease curbs on critical minerals exports. China says U.S. had introduced multiple “discriminatory restrictive” measures against China.
April - After returning to office with a 10% punitive tariff on Chinese goods, Trump announces at the start of April sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on all imports that hurt relations with China more. China retaliates and both countries take turns raising levies against each other to exceed 100%. China also begins restricting some rare earths exports.
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