China doesn't fear trade war, urges equal, respectful talks, envoy says

China doesn't want or fear a trade war, and talks should be conducted in an equal, respectful and reciprocal manner, Beijing's top envoy in Washington said, as the US-China Business Council cautioned that hefty duties, if they take hold, would significantly reduce the United States' exports.

Speaking at an embassy open house event on Saturday, Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng said tariff hikes benefit no one, but instead disrupt business, raise costs, rattle financial markets and slow global growth.

During the first 100 days since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan 20, Washington has announced sweeping tariffs, starting with a 10 percent blanket duty on all foreign-made imports.

Dozens of countries received a 90-day pause until July, but tariffs were raised to 145 percent on products from China, which has retaliated by imposing 125 percent levies on US goods.

"China does not want a trade war but is not intimidated by it. We are defending not only our own legitimate rights and interests, but also the order of international trade," Xie said.

"If the US wants to talk, it should act in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity," he added.

The envoy noted that trade is not a zero-sum game, and building barriers only blocks the flow of shared growth.

Saturday's embassy event, which was part of this year's Around the World Embassy Tour, featured Gansu province in Northwest China, once a front line in China's fight against poverty.

Gansu, by lifting more than 5.5 million people out of poverty and covering over 99 percent of its land with a 4G network, tells a story of resilience and self-reliance, Xie said.

To illustrate how the US has long benefited from global trade, Xie said that in 2022 alone, the revenue of US-owned enterprises in China significantly exceeded those of Chinese-owned enterprises in the US, by more than $400 billion.

"The China-US economic relationship is overall balanced and mutually beneficial," he said.

China remained the US' third-largest goods export market in 2024 and sixth-largest services export market in 2023. Trade with China in areas like agriculture, education, travel, aerospace and semiconductors supports 862,467 US jobs, according to the "US Exports to China" 2025 report from the US-China Business Council.