The Chinese leader’s remarks come in new hopes for a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warns that tariffs threaten the interests of all countries amid a de facto trade embargo ongoing between China and the US.
At a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday, Xi Qi said the trade war “harms the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurts the multilateral trading system and affects the global economic order.”
“XI said China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to protect international order based on international law and international law, firmly protect their respective legitimate rights and interests, and defend international fairness and justice,” Xinhua said.
Xi’s statement is that trade between the two biggest economies in the world has become an effective halt following the imposing of punishing tariffs on each other’s exports.
US President Donald Trump’s administration imposes 145% tariffs on most Chinese products, and China imposes a 125% duty on US exports accordingly.
The trade war has sparked fears about a global economic slowdown, with the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revising its 2025 growth estimate from 3.3% to 2.8%.
Global stocks surged on Wednesday after comments from Trump and top administration officials raised hopes for a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
In a speech to investors on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said the trade war with China is “unsustainable” and hopes to reach a trade deal at some point.
Following Bescent’s remarks, Trump acknowledged that tariffs on Chinese goods were “very high” and said the rate would “deep significantly.”
“It’s not near that number,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry said the door to talks is “widely open,” but the Trump administration should stop the threat if they want to reach a deal.
“We don’t want to fight, and we’re not afraid to fight,” spokesman Guo Zi-Kung said at regular press conferences, adding, “Continuing to exert extreme pressure is not the right way to do business with China.”