Rabat – In a step that signals a re -calibration of his approach to an increasingly tense trade relationship with the USA, China Es has China appointed Li Chengang as the new chief trade negotiator.
The decision is made in the middle of a new tariff patent situation, with both countries reducing the horns through economic policy.
Li replaces Wang Shouwen, a veteran who took part in talks in front of the 2020 trade agreement with Washington. Chinese officials have not offered a public explanation for the change, but it happens that Beijing is looking for a fresh foot in a difficult dialogue with the USA.
Customs between the two powers have reached the punishment level. Chinese goods look at 145% in the USA, while Beijing has imposed 125% tariffs for American products. At the same time, Washington has temporarily spared other countries from similar tasks, a step that further thwarts China. Despite the pressure, Beijing insists that it will not close its doors for trade and foreign investments.
On the same day, on which Li called Li, China also reported 5.4%of economic growth in the first quarter of the year. Officials pointed out a thrust of exports as an important driver of this number. Nevertheless, many economists expect this dynamic to fade when new US tariffs bite.
“Current friction will burden the economy at short notice, but it will not disturb the long -term growth,” said Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the China National Bureau of Statistics.
Li brings a different kind of experience to the table. Before this appointment, he represented China at the world trade organization for more than four years and defended China’s position in Geneva. He also contributed to the negotiations that China’s entry into the WTO paved more than two decades ago, a time when China endeavored to join the global trading system.
Those who know Li describe him as pragmatic and open to global cooperation. Tu Xinquan, who heads the China Institute for WTO studies, believes that Li’s background is fitting at the moment. “He supports open markets and knows the system from the inside,” said TU. Nevertheless, Tu found that Li will follow the direction of China’s top lead, including President Xi Jinping.
The change of the negotiator suggests that Beijing wants to project both determination and openness. But the options appear limited behind the scenes. With both sides that no longer have products to aim, the trade conflict is in a longer patient situation.
Sun Chenghao, a researcher at Tsinghua University, described the situation as a deadlock. “There is not much to be taxed. Every movement now depends on a political gesture on both sides,” he said. He pointed out possible concessions on the fentanyl regulation or Chinese property of Tiktok as a lever trigger A diplomatic thaw.
At the moment, however, the dialogue remains difficult. In the United States, former Trump consultant Jamieson Greer has taken over trade negotiations, but several leading roles remain free. In Beijing, the officials continue to warn of what they consider as an American “maximum pressure”.
“If the United States wants a dialogue, it should drop the threats,” said the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, at a press conference. “The conversations have to rest for respect and mutual interest.”
In the meantime, President XI continues a diplomatic tour through Southeast Asia. His stops in Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia aim to deepen the trade relationships within the region and to promote alternative framework conditions that do not depend on the institutions of US institutions.
Nevertheless, China is gone in front of a downhill. The domestic consumption remains sluggish and the country cannot easily replace American buyers. In response to this, China also tightened his export controls on rare earth and signaled that it also has lever.
With new voices at the negotiating table and the global river trade, the coming months can test whether the two largest economies in the world can overcome the confrontation or settle into a new, restless normality.
