China suspends ‘special port fees’ on US vessels for a year

China said yesterday it would suspend for one year “special port fees” on US vessels “simultaneously” with Washington's pause on levies targeting Chinese ships, as a fragile trade truce between the superpowers continues to take shape.

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The United States and China have been involved in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some punitive measures after presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met last month in South Korea.

At one point, duties on both sides had reached prohibitive triple-digit levels, hampering trade between the world’s two largest economies and snarling global supply chains.

The suspension of the port fees, which applied to ships operated by or built in the United States that visited Chinese ports, began at 1:01 pm (12:01 pm in Thailand) yesterday, a transport ministry statement said.

The US shipbuilding industry was dominant after World War II but has gradually declined and now accounts for just 0.1% of global output.

The sector is now dominated by Asia, with China building nearly half of all ships launched, ahead of South Korea and Japan.

Separately, Beijing said it would suspend sanctions against US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea's largest shipbuilders.