China Rejects US Reciprocal Tariffs In Trade Negotiations In Switzerland

JAKARTA - The Chinese government on Sunday rejected the implementation of a reciprocal tariff by the United States (US), amid trade negotiations between the two countries held in Switzerland, citing Chinese state media reports.

The United States is considered to be using tariffs as a "gun to exert maximum pressure for its own interests, reflecting unilateral, protective, and acts of economic intimidation," Miao Deyu, said at a press conference quoted by the Global Times.

"This kind of approach sacrifices the legal interests of other countries around the world in order to fulfill US hegemony ambitions," he added.

The statement was delivered in conjunction with bilateral talks between the US and Chinese delegations in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday.

The US delegation was led by Finance Minister Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Total, while the Chinese delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday night said his team had held an "very good meeting" with Chinese officials on trade in Switzerland, claiming that there had been a "total restructuring" in US-China trade relations.

The negotiations were carried out in an effort to ease trade tensions that had heated up earlier this year, when the US set tariffs of up to 145 percent on various imported products from China.

In retaliation, Beijing also imposed a tariff of up to 125 percent on a number of products from the United States.