China agreed to US tariff talks but is likely to play hardball

By agreeing to meet with the Trump administration to discuss trade, China is seeking to cast itself as the responsible one in a bruising superpower competition that has roiled the global financial system and set off fears of a recession.

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For weeks, China had publicly said it would not engage in trade talks with the United States under duress, refusing to “kneel down” and compromise with a “bully.” It insisted that Washington should first drop its eye-watering tariffs on China as a condition for negotiations.

On Wednesday, Beijing indicated it would come to the table after all, saying its top trade official, He Lifeng, would meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland this week. Even so, it maintained a tough stance, warning Washington against using the talks as “a smoke screen to continue coercion and extortion.”

The Chinese government said it had come to this decision "based on a full consideration of global expectations, China’s interests and the calls of American industry and consumers," suggesting that it was doing so largely for the greater good.

"China is trying to frame itself as the responsible party, but it’s still a pretty hard-line tone: You better behave yourself in these talks," said Yun Sun, a China analyst at the Stimson Center.

But the move is still a softening of China’s stance, at a time when economic data has shown that the trade brinkmanship was taking a toll on both countries’ economies.

The Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the United States by 145%, and China’s response in hiking its own tariffs on American goods to 125%, has effectively frozen all trade between the two countries in recent weeks.