China is “evaluating” the possibility of participating in US trade talks

China signaled on Friday that it may reopen the door to trade talks with Washington, saying it is still reviewing whether to join negotiations after last month’s sharp tariff increase ordered by President Donald Trump.

In a written statement, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said it had “taken note” that senior US officials have repeated their wish to speak with China about the tariffs. “The United States has recently sent messages to China through relevant parties, hoping to start talks with China,” the ministry said. “China is currently evaluating this.” The statement urged officials in the US capital to match their words with “sincerity.”

The note gave financial markets fresh hope that the trade standoff between the world’s two largest economies might ease. Futures on the S&P 500 Index wiped out earlier losses during Asian hours, and a widely watched yardstick of regional shares moved into positive territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed more than 1 percent, while mainland exchanges stayed shut for a holiday. In currency trading, the offshore yuan rose 0.3 percent to 7.2566 per dollar, and the Australian dollar extended its rebound.

Talks would mark a shift in a dispute that has rattled businesses on both sides of the Pacific. Last month, Trump pushed import taxes on a broad range of Chinese goods to levels unseen in 100 years, and Beijing retaliated by raising its own tariffs. The U.S. president has said several times that Chinese leader Xi Jinping needs to contact him first if Beijing truly wants to bargain. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that China must take the initial step to break the stalemate.

“The high level of reciprocal tariffs on China is not sustainable, so the market expects the U.S. and China to start negotiating at some point,” said Woei Chen Ho, economist at United Overseas Bank Ltd. “The beginning of negotiations will likely drive market volatility again because it is not expected to be plain sailing.”

Political moves in Washington could complicate the path forward

On Thursday, Trump reshuffled top national‑security posts, expanding Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s duties. Rubio, who became the first US cabinet member sanctioned by Beijing, will act as interim national security adviser while keeping his State Department portfolio. Michael Waltz, the outgoing adviser, will be nominated as US ambassador to the United Nations.

Holding both jobs will give Rubio a louder voice on matters that Beijing follows closely, including Taiwan, which China regards as its own territory. The secretary of state has pledged in the past to counter what he calls China’s “destabilizing actions” in the South China Sea.

In an interview broadcast Thursday night on Fox News with host Sean Hannity, Rubio said Chinese officials are looking for a “short‑term accommodation” and that the US duties are “taking a huge toll” on China’s economy. “The Chinese are reaching out,” Rubio told Hannity. “They want to meet, they want to talk.”

The White House, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Departments of Treasury and Commerce did not answer requests for comment on Friday.

Economic pressure inside China is mounting. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index released this week showed factory activity sinking into its deepest contraction since December 2023. New export orders fell to the lowest level since December 2022 and recorded their steepest one‑month drop since April 2022, when Shanghai shut down to control a pandemic outbreak.

Even while hinting at openness, the Commerce Ministry framed its view as unchanged. As a condition for any talks, the ministry said Washington must first “correct its wrong practices” by lifting the unilateral tariffs. “If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is open,” the statement said.

It said, “What China wants to emphasize is that in any possible dialogue or talks, if the United States does not correct its wrong unilateral tariff measures, it means that the United States has no sincerity at all and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides.”

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