US 'proactively' reaching out to Beijing for tariff talks: Chinese state media

The United States has been contacting China to chalk out a trade deal to mitigate the effects of Trump’s tariffs that have already tossed global markets around.

Chinese state media on Thursday said that Washington was “proactively” reaching out to China via “multiple channels” for talks on the tariffs. “From a negotiation standpoint, the US is currently the more anxious party,” Yuyuan Tantian, a Chinese outlet linked to state broadcaster CCTV, said.

It added that the Trump administration is facing “multiple pressures” owing to his tariffs. At the same time, Beijing has repeatedly urged the United States to engage in dialogue in a “fair, respectful and reciprocal” manner.

China creates a list

Meanwhile, Beijing has made a list of US goods that would be exempted from its 125 per cent tariffs and has been quietly notifying its companies about the development, sources have told Reuter__s.

The quiet approach allows Beijing, which has repeatedly said it is willing to fight till the end unless the US lifts its 145 per cent tariffs, to maintain its public messaging while privately taking practical steps to provide concessions.

It is, however, not clear which products have been put on the list as authorities have not made it public yet.

Companies are being privately contacted by authorities and notified of the existence of a list of product classifications that would be exempted from the tariffs, according to one of the sources who works at a drug company selling US-made medicines in China.

China’s factory output shrinks

China’s factory activity shrank this month, official data showed Wednesday, with Beijing blaming a “sharp shift” in the global economy as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.

The reading for April was down from March’s 50.5, which was the highest in 12 months, and represented a steeper decline than the 49.7 forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

“In April, affected by factors such as a high base from earlier rapid manufacturing growth and a sharp shift in the external environment, the manufacturing PMI fell,” NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said in a statement.

With inputs from agencies