You called me. No — you called ME. Before US-China meeting, nations each say the other wanted talks
WASHINGTON AP Who called first It s the question that has put Beijing and Washington in a verbal sparring match even as the two countries are heading into a weekend meeting in Switzerland to discuss lowering sky-high tariffs that they slapped on each other in heated moments that have shaken financial markets and stirred worries about the global market system The meeting is being held at the request of the U S side Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated Wednesday President Donald Trump disagreed They mentioned we initiated it Well I think they ought to go back and evaluation their files Trump declared Wednesday when swearing in David Perdue as the new U S ambassador to China That followed weeks of each side suggesting the other side had reached out first including Trump implying Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him only to be refuted by Beijing When it comes to the world s two largest economies readying themselves for what is expected to be tough exchange talks the residents back-and-forth is no trivial matter The obsession with who reached out first is a proxy fight over leverage announced Craig Singleton senior director of the China operation at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies For Washington signaling that Beijing initiated the meeting reinforces the narrative that the tariffs are working For Beijing denying outreach preserves the illusion of parity and avoids domestic perception of weakness Jockeying for dominance Daniel Russel a former U S diplomat who oversaw East Asian and Pacific affairs called the exchange part diplomatic stalemate and part dominance display worthy of a nature documentary In his decades-long career as a diplomat Russel explained he is unaware of a single instance where a Chinese leader initiated a call with a U S president It may be pride it may be protocol but for Beijing being the demandeur is to show weakness and that s something the Chinese system is hardwired to avoid revealed Russel now vice president for international precaution and diplomacy at the Asia Society Plan Institute The Trump s administration is less accommodating Their position is If Xi wants the tariffs lifted he knows how to reach us Russel commented Not long after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to and Beijing retaliated with tariffs on U S goods Trump suggested that China like several other countries was in talks with his administration On April he apparently directed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to say we re doing very well regarding a probable contract deal with China I think it s a process that s going to go pretty speedily with China Trump revealed on the same day I think we re going to live together very happily and ideally work together Back and forth and back again Yet China fast denied any talk towards a deal When questioned about such negotiations Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun responded All is fake news The next day Guo appealed the U S to stop creating confusion on tariff talks Then came a TIME magazine interview when Trump claimed Xi had called him Details None provided When Trump didn t say He s called And I don t think that s a sign of weakness on his behalf Trump commented in the interview published on April Beijing dismissed it saying there was no modern leadership phone call Yet soon the word started to spread on China s social media that the Trump administration was contacting Beijing and it was certified a limited days later by the Chinese Commerce Ministry The U S had repeatedly and proactively conveyed messages to China in recent months to express the hope to engage in negotiations with China the ministry announced on May In this regard the Chinese side is assessing it the ministry revealed in an apparent off-ramp move climbdown that prepared the society opinion for the announcement a meager days later that Vice Premier He Lifeng would meet U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland this weekend Sun Yun director of the China effort at the Stimson Center explained the reality is more complicated when the two governments have been in regular contact and each side may have its own understanding what constitutes reaching out for tariff talks Technically Sun declared both sides are correct By Thursday Trump appeared ready to move on We can all play games who made the first call who didn t make them Doesn t matter Trump stated Referring to the upcoming tariff talk this weekend in Switzerland Trump reported It only matters what happens in that room Source
