China urges Trump to heed ‘rational voices’ on reciprocal tariffs

China’s Commerce Ministry has described the U.S. tariff exemptions as a “small step” and has urged President Donald Trump to completely eliminate the reciprocal tariffs, which currently include a 145% duty on imports from China.

In an online statement translated by CNBC, the ministry stated, “We urge the U.S. to listen to the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties, take a significant step 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 also mentioned that China is currently assessing the impact of the tariff exemptions on certain tech products that were announced recently.

The White House did not respond immediately to CNBC’s request for comment.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer mentioned on Sunday that there are currently no plans for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to engage in talks.

Greer stated on CBS News’ Face the Nation, “This issue is truly at the leaders level.”

The response in China to U.S. tariffs is evident in both state media and social media. The recent exemptions are being portrayed domestically as a sign of Trump’s retreat and as further evidence that Chinese supply chains are not easily replaceable by U.S. companies.

The official Beijing Daily wrote, “Public opinion widely views this as another retreat by the U.S. government on its tariff policies.”

On China’s popular social media platform Weibo, the hashtag “Trump administration retreats again” was trending at No. 2 on the hot search list.

The Trump administration recently exempted several widely used tech devices and components, such as smartphones, computers, semiconductors, solar cells, and flash drives, from reciprocal tariffs, as per guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

While this move was seen as a significant victory for tech giants like Apple, which produce many products in China, CNBC previously reported that the long-term impact of the China tariffs on the U.S. economy and small businesses may be irreversible.

Despite the tariff exemption announcement, a 20% tariff on all Chinese products remains in effect.

— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report