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China is prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration on how it can make more investments in the US after the president’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on the country — and TikTok could also play a role in the discussions, according to a report.
With both sides eager to avoid escalating a trade war when the tariff goes into effect on Tuesday, Beijing is hoping to return to a previous 2020 trade agreement with the US that never panned out, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The so-called Phase One deal would see China increase purchases of American goods and services by $200 billion over a two-year period.
The agreement — signed in 2020 with the first Trump administration — was never implemented, however, Beijing is now prepared to revisit the deal to kick off negotiations about areas where China can buy more from the US, sources familiar with the thinking told the WSJ.
Arthur Kroeber, a founding partner and head of research at Gavekal Dragonomics, an economic consulting firm that focuses on China, told the outlet that the Chinese “would be very happy to get into deal negotiation.
“The objective,” he said, “would basically be to blunt the US attack rather than gain anything material.”
In an apparent gesture of goodwill, Beijing also plans to treat TikTok — which Trump has said he would like to see jointly split 50-50 between the US and China — as a “commercial matter,” sources familiar with the negotiations told the WSJ.
This means the Chinese government would step aside to allow US investors to deal directly with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, the outlet said.
It’s unclear, however, whether or not China would give up TikTok’s sought-after algorithm.
China previously said it plans to oppose President Trump’s tariff at the World Trade Organization.
Trump’s long-expected move “seriously violates” international trade rules, China’s commerce ministry said, and urged the US to “engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation.”
Trump on Saturday ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China, saying Beijing needed to halt the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
