Chinese leader’s remarks come amid renewed hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned that tariffs threaten the interests of all countries amid an ongoing de facto trade embargo between China and the United States.
During a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday, Xi said trade wars “undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system and impact the world economic order”, the state-run news agency Xinhua said.
“Xi said that China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, firmly protect respective legitimate rights and interests, and defend international fairness and justice,” Xinhua said.
Xi’s remarks come as trade between the world’s two largest economies is at an effective standstill following the imposition of punishing tariffs on each other’s exports.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a 145 percent tariff on most Chinese goods, with China slapping a 125 percent duty on US exports in response.
The trade war has raised fears of a global economic slowdown, with the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revising its 2025 growth estimate from 3.3 percent to 2.8 percent.
Global stocks surged on Wednesday after comments by Trump and top administration officials raised hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
In a speech to investors on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a trade war with China was “unsustainable” and he expected the sides to reach a deal on trade at some point.
Following Bessent’s remarks, Trump acknowledged that the tariff on Chinese goods was “very high” and said the rate would “come down substantially” in time.
“It will not be anywhere near that number,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the door for talks was “wide open” but the Trump administration should stop making threats if it wanted to reach a deal.
“We do not wish to fight, nor are we afraid of fighting,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular news conference, adding that “continuing to exert extreme pressure is not the correct way to have dealings with China”.
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