US has reached out to China to initiate tariff talks, China Central Television says

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. (Courtesy: AP file photo)

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been seeking contact with Beijing to initiate talks on the massive tariffs Washington has imposed on China, according to a state-run media outlet.

The US government recently reached out to China though various channels, Yuyuantantian, a Weibo account affiliated with China Central Television that regularly signals Beijing’s views on trade, said in a post. It cited unidentified people with knowledge of the matter, providing no further details.

The post casts a different light on behind-the-scenes maneuvering between the world’s two largest economies. Trump has repeatedly said President Xi Jinping needs to contact him in order to begin tariff talks and earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it’s up to Beijing to take the first step to de-escalate the dispute.

Trump argued Wednesday during a Cabinet meeting that a recent fall in cargo flows indicated that Beijing would soon need to engage with him. The president said he was “not happy” with the sharp decline in trade between the two nations because he wanted “China to do well” while treating the US fairly.

Trump later Wednesday expressed confidence he would eventually speak with Xi, despite the Chinese leader’s reluctance to engage directly with his counterpart. “It’ll happen,” Trump said.

“China doesn’t need to talk to the US until it takes meaningful measures,” Yuyuantantian said in the post. From a negotiation standpoint, the US is “clearly the more anxious party at the moment,” it added, citing pressure the Trump administration faces on multiple fronts.

In Washington, official data showed the US economy contracted at the start of the year for the first time since 2022 following a monumental pre-tariffs import surge and more moderate consumer spending. The data provided a first snapshot of ripple effects from Trump’s trade policies.

At the same time, prices from some of the most popular sellers of made-in-China goods already suggest US shoppers will be paying a major portion of the bill despite Trump’s claim Beijing will bear the brunt of his 145% tariffs.