China has outlined the steps it wants from the Trump administration before engaging in tariff negotiations, including more respect from cabinet members, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Quoting a person familiar with Beijing, the outlet added that conditions also include a more consistent position from the administration and the willingness to address some of its concerns, including sanctions and Taiwan.
China also wants to see the appointment of a point person who has the support of President Donald Trump and can work on a deal that can later be signed by him and Xi Jinping.
So far no side has taken concrete steps toward formal negotiations, with both saying they are open for talks. Trump appears to prefer talking to Xi directly, while Beijing wants lower-level negotiations that lead to a meeting with a concrete outcome.
Bloomberg noted that while Beijing did not make specific references related to the respect it expects from the Trump administration, officials were particularly incensed by comments made by Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month wondered "what has the globalist economy gotten the United States of America?"
"And the answer is, fundamentally, it's based on two principles – incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us," he told Fox & Friends. "To make it a little more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture," he added.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reacted to the comments days later, saying "it's astonishing and lamentable to hear this vice president make such ignorant and disrespectful remarks."
China last week hiked tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% in retaliation to Trump's tariffs. Officials added that it would be the last time it matched a U.S. hike, claiming it would "no longer have any economic significance and it would go down as a joke in the history of world economics."
Katherine Tai, who worked during the Joe Biden administration, has warned that China is preparing for "prolonged economic warfare" and that factories in the U.S. and around the world will close as a result.
She went on to say that Chinese companies had previously offered discounts to longtime U.S. clients, but now are willing to give up the market entirely and find new buyers elsewhere. In fact, China has been expanding its trading blacklist and also those facing export controls.
The Daily Mail detailed that Beijing will likely impose more controls on products needed by U.S. companies to make their own, especially through regulatory investigations and penalties. It might also seek for them to give up intellectual property or be banned from doing business in the country.
Beijing has vowed to "fight to the end" against Trump's tariffs, with top official Li Qiang saying authorities were "fully confident" in the resilience of the Chinese economy.
Originally published on Latin Times
