TMTPOST -- China’ top official overseeing economic and financial policy as well as trade talks with Western counterpart on Wednesday stressed his serious concern over new U.S. tariffs.
Credit：The Paper
In his first video talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng expressed grave concern over the United States' additional tariffs on Chinese goods over the issue of fentanyl, the Section 301 investigation and the proposed "reciprocal" tariffs, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
He urged the U.S. side to soon return to resolving shared concerns through equal consultation, according to the report. It said the two sides exchanged candid, in-depth views on important bilateral economic and trade issues, following up on the consensus reached during a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on January 17, 2025.
Both sides expressed belief that maintaining a stable bilateral economic and trade relationship serves the interests of both countries, and agreed to continue communication on issues of concern, Xinhua reported. Greer said candid talks are important as they can boost mutual understanding and help resolve emerging issues, per the report.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in a readout called Greer 's introductory meeting via videoconference with He a "candid discussion".
Greer outlined how Trump is establishing a robust and reinvigorated trade policy that promotes domestic investment and productivity, enhances America’s industrial and technological advantages, defends U.S. economic and national security, and benefits American workers and businesses, according to the readout. The Trade Representative was said to express serious concerns about China’s unfair and anticompetitive trade policies and practices.
Earlier Wednesday, Beijing issued severe warning after the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the U.S. Department of Commerce issued two documents, expanding its trade restrictions on Chinese technology firms, adding 54 Chinese AI and quantum computing companies to the "Entity List".
12 Chinese firms related to AI large models, supercomputing, and servers were added, including the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), Ningchang Information Industry, and Suma, a server brand under China Electronics Corporation, will face stringent export restrictions starting Friday. Approximately 80 entities from multiple countries, including 42 from China were also placed to the Entity List. The BIS cited "supporting China's quantum technology development" as a key reason for adding entities such as Saihao Instruments, Anhui Kehua Trade, and Chongqing Southwest Integrated Circuit Design Co., Ltd.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun slamed the move, describing it as “typical hegemonism and a serious violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations”. " The action of the U.S. harms the lawful rights and interests of businesses and destabilizes the global industrial and supply chains. We firmly oppose and strongly condemn this," said Guo in a press on Wednesday.
The spokesperson called on the U.S. to stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop politicizing trade and sci-tech issues and using them as a weapon and a tool and stop abusing various kinds of sanction lists to hit Chinese companies. He warned that China will take necessary steps to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.
更多精彩内容，关注钛媒体微信号（ID：taimeiti），或者下载钛媒体App
