China unexpectedly anoints new trade negotiator amid US tariff war

By Ethan Wang, Laurie Chen and Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Wednesday unexpectedly appointed a brand new commerce negotiator key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff struggle with the USA, changing commerce tsar Wang Shouwen with its envoy to the World Commerce Group.

Li Chenggang, 58, a former assistant commerce minister through the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, takes over from Wang, the human sources and social safety ministry stated in an announcement.

It was unclear if Wang, 59, who assumed the No. 2 position on the commerce ministry in 2022, had taken up a submit elsewhere. His identify was now not on the ministry’s management staff, in line with the ministry’s web site as of Wednesday.

The ministry didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for touch upon the change, which was not defined within the human sources ministry’s assertion.

Wang was thought to be a troublesome negotiator and had clashed with U.S. officers in earlier conferences, stated a supply in Beijing’s overseas enterprise group.

“He is a bulldog, very intense,” stated the supply, declining to be named.

The shift inside the prime management on the commerce ministry comes as Beijing pursues a hardline stance in an intensifying commerce struggle with Washington triggered by Trump’s steep tariffs on gadgets imported from China.

The abrupt change additionally came about in the course of President Xi Jinping’s tour of Southeast Asia to consolidate financial and buying and selling ties with shut neighbours amid the standoff with the U.S.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao was amongst senior officers flanking Xi on his go to to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia this week.

Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a senior adviser to the Convention Board’s China Heart stated the change was “very abrupt and doubtlessly disruptive” given how rapidly commerce tensions had escalated and in mild of Wang’s expertise negotiating with the U.S. for the reason that first Trump administration.

“We are able to solely speculate as to why this occurred at this exact second; however it may be that within the view of China’s prime management, given how tensions have continued escalating, they want another person to interrupt the deadlock wherein each nations discover themselves and at last begin negotiating,” he stated.

In contrast to a number of different nations which have responded to Trump’s plans for punitive tariffs by in search of bilateral offers with Washington, Beijing has raised its personal levies on U.S. items in response and has not sought talks, which it says can solely be performed on the idea of mutual respect and equality.

Washington stated on Tuesday that Trump was open to creating a commerce take care of China however Beijing ought to make the primary transfer, insisting that China wanted “our cash”.

‘TARIFF SHOCKS’

Li, who was China’s ambassador to the WTO for greater than 4 years, beforehand held a number of key jobs within the commerce ministry, comparable to in departments overseeing treaties and legislation and honest commerce. He additionally has an instructional background within the elite Peking College and Germany’s Hamburg College.

On March 31, Li attended a Chinese language personal entrepreneurs discussion board as a “chief” of the commerce ministry, in line with a state media readout of the assembly, one of many first official hints of an impending transfer to a brand new position.

“It looks like a routine promotion with nothing irregular, however now’s clearly a delicate interval resulting from U.S.-China tensions,” stated Alfred Wu, affiliate professor on the Nationwide College of Singapore.

At a February WTO assembly in Geneva, Li slammed the U.S. for arbitrarily imposing tariffs on its buying and selling companions, together with China.

Final week, China filed a brand new grievance with the WTO expressing “grave concern” over U.S. tariffs, accusing Washington of violating WTO guidelines.

“Li is a lawyer by coaching, which positions him higher than Wang Shouwen to deal with the advanced authorized points which are rising within the present negotiations,” stated Henry Gao, professor of legislation at Singapore Administration College.

“This variation signifies that China is ready to deal with authorized issues extra comprehensively on this spherical of talks. If something, this shift demonstrates China’s willingness to delve into authorized intricacies throughout negotiations, suggesting a strategic method to resolving the continuing commerce struggle.”

(Reporting by Ethan Wang, Xiuhao Chen, Laurie Chen, Eduardo Baptista and Ryan Woo; Modifying by Christian Schmollinger, Clarence Fernandez, Lincoln Feast and Kate Mayberry.)

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