Vice President JD Vance called on Beijing to “choose the path of reason” in the latest spiraling US-China trade war, saying President Donald Trump has more influence.
“It’s going to be a delicate situation, and a lot will depend on how the Chinese respond,” Vance said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Future. “If they respond very aggressively, I guarantee that the president of the United States has many more cards than the People’s Republic of China. However, if they are willing to be reasonable,” he added, the United States would do it too.
Vance’s comments are the latest in an escalation of retaliation that has weakened markets and increased confusion ahead of a possible meeting later this month in South Korea between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Stocks, oil and cryptocurrencies were hit on Friday by the flare-up, which was stoked by a social media post by Trump that threatened that the United States would respond to China’s imposition of restrictions on rare earth exports and other trade measures.
I think it’s normal for markets to have some concern,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing. “That said, these measures are not yet in place. It is scheduled for November 1. So I think we will see calm in the markets next week, as the situation calms down, hopefully.”
China’s Commerce Ministry said Sunday that the United States should stop threatening it with higher tariffs and urged more negotiations to resolve outstanding trade issues.
Tensions rose last week when China announced new export controls and other measures, although some will not take effect until November or may not be widely applied.
An apparently furious Trump announced Friday that he would impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and restrict certain exports of American software starting Nov. 1, while hinting that he might halt shipments of aircraft parts. However, Trump also stated that he had set November as the date for negotiations.
“We’ll have to see what happens. That’s why I set it for November 1. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday.
Vance, who said he spoke with Trump on Saturday and Sunday, said the president “appreciates the friendship he has forged with Xi,” but added: “We have a lot of influence. And my hope, and I know the president’s, is that we don’t have to use it.”
He added that the good relationship is threatened “if the Chinese continue this path of cutting off everyone’s access to some of the goods they produce.”
Greer on Sunday cited text from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce statement that said export controls are not the same as an export ban.
“It is clear that the Chinese have realized that they have greatly exceeded the limits of what is acceptable,” he said.
The two superpowers engaged in an escalating trade war this spring, raising tariffs to at least 125% on each side, before reaching a deal to return to current levels: 10% Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods and a combined 30% U.S. tariff on imports from China, on top of pre-existing tariffs.
“In the coming weeks we will find out a lot about whether China wants to start a trade war with us or if it really wants to be reasonable. I hope they choose the path of reason,” Vance said.
