The third round of economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States concluded recently, with both sides providing cautious statements. The talks took place in Stockholm from July 28th to 29th, marking the shortest of the three rounds so far.
According to our negotiating representative and Deputy Minister of Commerce, Li Chenggang, China and the U.S. reached two agreements in this round of negotiations. Firstly, they agreed to continue pushing forward with the suspended 24% section of equivalent tariffs by the U.S. Secondly, China will extend its countermeasures as scheduled.
In essence, the outcome of this round of talks maintains the current status quo. It confirms that after the expiry of the tariff suspension deadline next month, neither side will resume the tariff war immediately. However, the exact duration of this extension has not been specified.
However, the U.S. side's stance on this matter is somewhat delicate. U.S. Trade Representative James Green stated they would return to Washington to discuss whether President Trump would proceed accordingly.
Green added, \"The President will make the final decision.\"
Treasury Secretary Bennett also indicated that they are considering another 90-day extension.
The U.S. team emphasized repeatedly that nothing is finalized until Trump signs it.
Clearly, the U.S. is cautious at the moment, possibly because they are still debating one issue. During the negotiations, the U.S. raised a question with China regarding their purchase of Russian oil.
Secretary Bennett revealed that he informed China during the negotiations that if China continues to purchase Russian oil, which is sanctioned by the West, the U.S. will impose a 100% secondary tariff.
Bennett also claimed that any country purchasing Russian oil should be prepared for this.
However, faced with U.S. pressure, Bennett also admitted that China immediately rejected this request during the negotiations.
Bennett said China told him, \"China is a sovereign country with energy needs, and any oil purchase will be based on national policies.\"
Bennett stated, \"The Chinese people attach great importance to their sovereignty, and we do not want to interfere with it, so there may be a 100% tariff on China.\"
So, the U.S. may still be grappling with this issue.
On the 28th, Trump shortened the \"deadline\" given to Russia, originally requiring Russia to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine within 50 days, but now it has been changed to within 10 days.
Trump warned that if Russia does not reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine within these 10 days, countries purchasing Russian oil will face a 100% secondary tariff. And China is one of the largest customers of Russian oil.
In other words, although China and the U.S. reached an agreement in this round to postpone tariffs, if the U.S. imposes a 100% tariff on China in 10 days due to secondary tariffs on Russian oil, that's another story.
There is a possibility that China and the U.S. will return to the previous tariff war, and the tariff rates may even exceed those in April of this year.
Therefore, the consensus reached between China and the U.S. in this round of negotiations to delay tariffs clearly becomes meaningless.
Bennett's discussion of this issue with China during this negotiation clearly shows that he wants to first explore China's stance and see what response China will make, so as to discuss and decide whether to finalize this matter.
In the view of the United States, this is the best way to control both China and Russia.
As of now, the United States has fewer chips in its hands in the negotiations between China and the United States, always being suppressed by China's \"rare earth ace\".
The United States threatens to impose a 100% secondary tariff on Russian oil, which is equivalent to \"making cards out of thin air\" to use as a bargaining chip to continue negotiations with China and make concessions in other economic and trade fields.
As for Russia, Trump hopes to use this to pressure Putin to start ceasefire negotiations as soon as possible.
The problem is that the economic and trade disputes between China and the United States have not been clarified, and now the United States has become involved in the issue of purchasing Russian oil, which is clearly not conducive to negotiations between the two sides and will make negotiations more complicated.
At the same time, as China said, whether or not to buy Russian oil is based on our internal policy decisions.
Energy security issues are even more sensitive than trade security issues. China, as a large country with a population of 1.4 billion and the largest industrial country in the world, has a huge demand for energy, which is a core interest that cannot be touched.
For Russia, they do not accept any \"ultimatum-style\" threats.
Trump's move not only cannot force China and Russia to cut off energy cooperation, but will also make the economic and trade disputes between China and the United States and the situation of Russia and Ukraine more tense.
The complexity of the economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States has been continuously escalated due to the U.S.'s unilateral \"making cards\" strategy.
Using energy security as a bargaining chip is not only helpful to resolve trade disputes, but may also escalate conflicts and push both sides into more intense games.
China's position is clear and firm — core interests are not negotiable, and cooperation must be equal.
If the U.S. insists on sanctions to exert pressure, it will only narrow the path of negotiations.
The United States should seek practical solutions with China on the basis of mutual respect. Otherwise, the \"tariff suspension\" that the two sides have worked so hard to achieve will become another futile cycle.
