（Source：Global Times，2025-08-12）
Shanghai Port container terminal for foreign trade is busy with operations on August 12, 2025. Photo: VCG
China and the US on Tuesday released a joint statement on the bilateral economic and trade meeting in Stockholm, which said the US will extend the tariff suspension on China for another 90 days and China likewise will continue to suspend its earlier tariff hike on US goods for 90 days.
The pause is the latest development in trade relations between the world's two largest economies following the trade and economic meetings in Geneva, London and Stockholm. The announcement has gained wide attention, with experts noting that the 90-day extension indicates that the economic and trade relationship between the two countries is moving toward a "phased easing," which helps stabilize markets and support global trade, and will create a certain degree of positive atmosphere for the next phase of bilateral consultations.
According to the joint statement, the US will continue to modify the application of the additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of China (including articles of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region), by suspending 24 percentage points of that rate for an additional period of 90 days, starting on August 12.
The joint statement also said that China will continue to suspend 24 percentage points of additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of the United States as well as related non-tariff countermeasures for another 90 days, starting on August 12.
Also on Tuesday, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that, to implement the consensus reached at the China-US high-level economic and trade talks, effective August 12, 2025, measures targeting 16 US entities listed on April 4 will remain suspended for 90 days, while measures against 12 US entities listed on April 9 will be terminated.
When asked to comment on the extension of the trade truce between China and the US, the US' executive order which states that the US will continue to have discussions with China to "address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship and our resulting national and economic security concerns," and President Donald Trump's comment which highlighted what he called his good relationship with Chinese leader, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday that China's position on its relations with the US and on the economic and trade issues between the two countries is consistent and clear.
Positive signal
"Over the past three months, China and the US have, through equal dialogue and negotiation, pressed the 'pause button' on the tariff war unilaterally initiated by the US," Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
This has gradually stabilized bilateral economic and trade relations from the chaos of April this year, creating an atmosphere for normal interactions in subsequent negotiations, Zhang noted.
One of the major outcomes is that both China and the US have clarified their demands and bottom lines. This facilitates communication toward further conflict control, Song Guoyou, a deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the extension between China and the US could keep financial markets calm, after they were roiled earlier this year by Trump Administration's April tariffs, which included the high rate on Chinese goods.
The extension until early November buys crucial time for the seasonal autumn surge of imports for the Christmas season, including electronics, apparel, and toys at lower tariff rates, according to a Reuters Tuesday report.
Extending the pause timeline of tariffs creates more favorable conditions for international economic and trade cooperation, particularly for discussions between China and the US on next steps to reach consensus, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The international trade environment is changing. Only by promoting mutually beneficial cooperation and establishing institutional frameworks can the two countries provide more effective support for businesses, markets, and global economic and trade cooperation, as well as instill sufficient confidence in the market, Zhou noted.
More topics to be discussed
Yang Shuiqing, an expert at the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the next phase of China-US consultations is likely to focus on tariffs themselves.
Regarding the suspended 24 percent reciprocal tariffs, Yang said that both sides may discuss agreements to achieve full or partial exemptions in the next stage of negotiations. Additionally, tariffs on industries such as steel and aluminum, automobiles, copper, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and consumer electronics may also be focal points in the negotiations.
Zhang said the next steps in China-US negotiations will likely focus on three main areas: first, how to resolve the current extended tariff issues through appropriate solutions; second, in the area of non-tariff barriers, the US should lift unreasonable investment and technology restrictions.
Recent developments indicate that the US is less able to withstand the impact of tariffs, leaving it with limited options to reinstate them, He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The US services sector effectively stagnated in July as firms - faced with tepid demand and rising costs - reduced headcount, according to a Bloomberg report. The new orders index fell to 50.3, nearing stagnation, per Bloomberg, citing Steve Miller, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, who said that "the tariffs are raising prices-paid, a potential driver of future inflation."
July also saw US job growth slow sharply, with only 73,000 non-farm jobs added, far below forecasts of 104,000 new roles, and the weaker-than-expected hiring pushed the unemployment rate up to 4.2 percent, from 4.1 percent in June, Xinhua reported.
He Weiwen considered the renewed 90-day extension as positive but a limited step for the US, urging that the tariffs should be removed altogether. The US' approach, he noted, should comply with WTO rules, serve the interests of businesses in both China and the US, and provide stable expectations for trade and cooperation, rather than creating ongoing uncertainty through short-term extensions.
