Vice-Premier calls on Washington to stabilize global industrial, supply chains with further talks

Washington should show greater sincerity in engaging with Beijing and maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, analysts said, amid news that Vice-Premier He Lifeng will hold trade talks with US officials in Malaysia from Oct 24-27.

The two sides will hold consultations on key issues in China-US economic and trade relations in accordance with the important consensus reached during multiple phone calls by the two nations’ leaders this year, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed in a statement on Oct 23 on its official website.

Earlier, Vice-Premier He, who is also China’s lead person for China-US economic and trade affairs, held a video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Oct 18. Both sides had agreed then to hold a fresh round of talks as soon as possible.

Despite the Sino-US trade talks held in mid-September in Madrid, Spain, the US government introduced a series of new restrictions targeting China, such as adding more Chinese entities to various exclusion lists and maintaining Section 301 tariffs on key Chinese industries, further increasing the friction between the world’s two largest economies.

Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, called the decision to resume economic and trade consultations a positive step, but urged the US to show “genuine sincerity and refrain from moves that could erode trust or hinder constructive dialogue”.

“Failure to do so will deepen mistrust and escalate tensions,” he said.

Huang Rengang, vice-chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, said that Washington’s repeated threats to impose additional tariffs to pressure Beijing have time and again proved to be the wrong approach in handling China-US relations.

Wang Wei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of American Studies in Beijing, said that China has ample means to counter actions harming its interests, and it can defend its legitimate rights as well as global fairness.

China’s continuous improvement of its export control system on rare earths is a legitimate act within the scope of national sovereignty, Wang added.

According to the “2025 Report on WTO Compliance of the United States” released last week by China’s Ministry of Commerce, US trade practices have violated World Trade Organization rules, including those on tariffs and nontariff barriers, trade remedies, industrial and agricultural subsidies, technical regulations, services, export controls and sanctions, investment reviews, and discriminatory arrangements in international cooperation.

Chen Wenling, former chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, noted that the complex interdependence between China and the US has created a commercial ecosystem so deeply integrated that the two countries have become inseparable in many critical sectors.

Responding to the US’ discriminatory actions against Chinese shipping and shipbuilding businesses, China announced that it will start charging special port service fees, effective Oct 14, on ships owned or operated by US entities.

The announcement prompted Danish shipping group Maersk Line and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd to make operational shifts last week. They diverted two US-flagged vessels away from Chinese ports.

Hapag-Lloyd’s container ship, the Potomac Express, skipped its scheduled call at the Port of Ningbo in East China’s Zhejiang province and instead sailed directly to Busan, South Korea. Cargo originally bound for or transiting through Ningbo was discharged in Busan and will be delivered to its final destination via Maersk’s network under their business partnership.

Maersk also made similar arrangements for one of its vessels, the Maersk Kinloss. The container ship will skip its call at Ningbo and sail directly to South Korea, where cargo bound for Ningbo will be unloaded and forwarded to its final destination.

Reflecting on broader changes in global trade, Wang Yiwei, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University of China, said that as trade volume with the US moderates, China is rapidly deepening economic integration with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and other trading partners.

US attempts to halt China’s growth through punitive tariffs have only fueled Beijing’s push for greater economic resilience, he added.

Steven Altman, an assistant professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said that trade and international business investment trends so far this year do not support the view that globalization has hit reverse gear.

FedEx Corp, the US-based express transportation service provider, highlighted the resilience of global trade by expanding its global reach last week, with five weekly flights connecting its hubs in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to Paris, France.

“As the global trade landscape continues to evolve, the European market is playing an increasingly pivotal role in the global strategies of Chinese businesses,” said Poh-Yian Koh, president of FedEx China.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn