China has indicated a willingness to accept a limited increase in US tariffs, as long as they remain within the levels agreed upon last year, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Commerce Ministry in Beijing issued a statement expressing hope that the US would maintain tariff levels no higher than those established during negotiations in Kuala Lumpur in October. Both countries’ trade teams plan to discuss extending the one-year agreement that was later formalized at a leaders summit in Busan, South Korea. That deal had led to a suspension of some tariffs, rare earth restrictions, and investigations into Chinese shipbuilders until November of this year. The ministry described the effort to extend the pact as aligned with common interests and international expectations.

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The statement signals cautious optimism that the one-year trade truce agreed upon by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump will continue. Trump visited Beijing last week for a summit with Xi, where the two leaders agreed to a new relationship focused on stability, though Beijing issued a strong warning regarding US policy toward Taiwan.

Beijing’s comments suggest it would accept US tariffs as long as they do not exceed the level agreed in Malaysia, which brought the effective rate to about 30%. That rate was later reduced to an estimated 21% after some tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court. The Trump administration has pursued new Section 301 investigations aiming to restore tariffs to the level before the court ruling. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated those tariffs could be reinstated by July.

The ministry also urged the US to remove unilateral tariffs in follow-up talks to create favorable conditions for expanding economic and trade cooperation.

In financial markets, the benchmark CSI 300 Index of Chinese stocks erased a decline and traded up 0.1% as of 1:17 p.m. in Shanghai. The yuan remained nearly unchanged at 6.8109 against the US dollar.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform