BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters): A tariff deal between the United States and China on Monday (May 12) was greeted with scepticism on Chinese social media, while official commentary welcomed the news.
Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides had agreed a 90-day pause and tariffs would be reduced by over 100 percentage points to a 10% baseline rate.
"I'm just afraid that Trump might change his mind at any time, after all he is not normal," one user called Qijie wrote on China's social media platform Weibo.
"Those Americans, especially that fool Trump, are simply not trustworthy! Beware of their fickleness," said another user called Wu.
Both posts generated thousands of likes.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has increased tariffs paid by US importers for goods from China to 145%, in addition to those he imposed on many Chinese goods during his first term and the duties the Biden administration levied.
China responded with export curbs on some rare earth elements, vital for US manufacturers of weapons and electronic consumer goods, and by raising tariffs on US goods to 125%.
Behind closed doors, Chinese officials had grown alarmed about the economic impact of tariffs and the risk of isolation as China's trading partners started negotiating deals with Washington, according to three officials familiar with Beijing's thinking.
As Chinese state media praised the deal, a commentary by public broadcaster CCTV said the meeting between China and the United States in Geneva was "balanced and beneficial to both sides".
"The atmosphere of the talks was candid, in-depth and constructive and substantial progress was made and important consensus was reached," it said on Tencent's Wechat social media platform.
Chinese commentator Hu Xijin, a former editor of state newspaper Global Times, said on his Wechat account the joint statement from China and the United States was historic.
China and the United States "can handle major disputes in an equal and mutually respectful manner," he said, adding the result was "also a victory for international trade rules and due order". – Reuters
