China’s Commerce Ministry called the U.S. tariff exemptions a “small step” and urged U.S. President Donald Trump to “completely abolish” the reciprocal tariffs, which include a 145% duty on imports from China.
“We urge the U.S. to heed the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties, take a big stride in correcting its mistakes, completely abolish the wrongful action of ‘reciprocal tariffs,’ and return to the correct path of resolving differences through equal dialogue based on mutual respect,” the ministry said in an online statement, according to a CNBC translation.
The ministry also said China is “evaluating the relevant impact” of the tariff exemptions on some tech products announced late Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that “right now,” there are not any plans for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak.
“This issue is truly at the leaders level,” he said on CBS News’ Face the Nation.
The response in China to U.S. tariffs can be seen in both state media and social media. The recent exemptions are being presented domestically as Trump is backing down and further evidence that Chinese supply chains are not easily replaceable by U.S. companies.
“Public opinion widely views this as another retreat by the U.S. government on its tariff policies,” the official Beijing Daily wrote.
On China’s popular social media platform Weibo, the hashtag “Trump administration retreats again” ranked No. 2 on the hot search list.
The Trump administration late Friday exempted some widely used tech devices and components, including smartphones, computers, semiconductors, solar cells and flash drives, from reciprocal tariffs, according to guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The move was viewed as a major win for tech giants, including Apple, which manufacture many products in China. But the long-lasting effects on the U.S. economy and small businesses from the China tariffs may be irreversible, CNBC previously reported.
A 20% tariff on all Chinese products still remains in effect, despite the tariff exemption announcement.
— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report