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China vows to seek tariff cuts with US while decrying its ‘malicious’ trade acts

China has signaled willingness to expand tariff-free trade with the United States while imposing new restrictions on American firms. Ambassador Xie Feng proposed raising the tariff-free threshold from $30 billion to $300 billion, and Beijing's commerce ministry says both sides will continue discussing reciprocal tariff reductions.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jun 18–25, 2026 Published Aug 13

Lead

Beijing has pledged to continue seeking tariff cuts and "win-win" cooperation with Washington even as it imposes fresh restrictions on American companies, underscoring the parallel tracks of cooperation and confrontation between the world's two largest economies. The messages come days after China placed new limits on dozens of U.S. firms in response to earlier U.S. actions, and follow a proposal by China's ambassador to the United States to massively expand the value of tariff-free trade between the two countries.

Coverage Comparison

Two reports from the South China Morning Post, which covers the story from an Asia-Pacific perspective, focus on different aspects of the development. One report emphasizes Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng's concrete proposal to increase the tariff-free threshold, while the other highlights the broader diplomatic posture of cooperation amid lingering friction. Both outlets provide quotes from Chinese officials and contextualize the trade relationship with bilateral trade figures.

Key Claims

Ambassador Xie Feng, addressing the US-China Business Council gala in Washington, proposed increasing the limit of tariff-free goods under the newly created US-China Board of Trade from $30 billion to $300 billion, a tenfold increase. "Personally, I would argue for doubling the number to $60 billion, or even raising it to $300 billion," he said, adding that the existing tariff-free basket was "far from big enough" given the scale of overall bilateral trade. The board was established during President Donald Trump's recent visit to China to manage tariff-free trade in non-sensitive sectors.

The value of U.S.-China goods trade totaled approximately $414 billion in 2025, according to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong told a press conference that both sides would "continue discussing reciprocal tariff reductions," and that economic and trade teams would "carry out further consultations on this matter." He also said Beijing would "encourage and guide their respective companies to strengthen engagement and expand trade activity" in aircraft and agricultural products.

Days earlier, Beijing imposed fresh restrictions on dozens of American firms, in response to what it described as earlier U.S. actions. He Yadong also criticized the expansion of the so-called Chinese Military Companies List, saying it "seriously harms Chinese enterprises."

Key Claims

Tariff-free expansion proposal: Ambassador Xie renewed calls to increase the tariff-free goods limit under the US-China Board of Trade from $30 billion to $300 billion, a tenfold rise.
Trade board creation: The board was established during President Donald Trump's visit to China, aimed at managing tariff-free trade in non-sensitive sectors.
Bilateral trade volume: Trade between China and the U.S. totaled about $414 billion in 2025, according to U.S. official figures.
Planned negotiations: Both sides plan continued consultations on reciprocal tariff reductions within the new trade board framework.
Cooperation in aviation and agriculture: China stated it will encourage companies to expand trade activity in aircraft and agricultural products.
Retaliatory measures: China imposed new restrictions on dozens of American firms in the days preceding the vows to pursue tariff cuts.

Perspectives

Chinese Government: Chinese officials emphasize a willingness to continue cooperative trade talks despite frictions, stressing the importance of win-win outcomes. They frame the new restrictions as as a necessary response to unfair American actions.

U.S. Business Community: The proposal to expand tariff-free goods has been welcomed by American business advocates, as expressed by Ambassador Xie, who shared their view that the current tariff-free basket is too small.

Trade Analysts: The parallel of cooperation on one track and confrontation on another reflects a pragmatic Chinese approach to managing relations with the U.S., balancing economic benefits with strategic positioning.

How this outlet told it

South China Morning Post as of Jun 18, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC

Framing: China proposes increase in tariff-free goods — Neutral

Facts Included:

Chinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng proposed increasing the limit of tariff-free goods under the US-China Board of Trade
The proposed increase is from $30 billion to $300 billion
Xie Feng addressed a gathering at the US-China Business Council gala in Washington
The US-China Board of Trade was established during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to China

Read the source article →

South China Morning Post as of Jun 25, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC

Framing: China balances cooperation and confrontation with the US — Neutral with a hint of tension

Facts Included:

China vows to pursue tariff cuts and 'win-win' cooperation with the US
Beijing imposed fresh restrictions on dozens of American firms
Reciprocal tariff reductions and cooperation in aircraft and agricultural products are being discussed
Xie Feng's proposal to increase the limit on tariff-free goods

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimChinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng proposed increasing the limit of tariff-free goods under the US-China Board of Trade from $30 billion to $300 billion.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 18, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe US-China Board of Trade was established during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to China.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 18, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC
ClaimChina imposed fresh restrictions on dozens of American firms in response to earlier US actions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 25, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe US-China trade totaled an estimated $414 billion in 2025, according to the US Trade Representative's office.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 18, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC
ClaimBoth sides will continue discussing reciprocal tariff reductions within the framework of a newly established trade board while encouraging cooperation in aircraft and agricultural products.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 25, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC
ClaimXie Feng addressed a gathering at the US-China Business Council gala in Washington.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of Jun 18, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: South China Morning Post 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13