China summons Walmart executives for talks in wake of Trump tariffs

China has summoned executives of Walmart – the world’s largest retailer – for regulatory talks, bringing the business practices of one of the United States’ most prominent companies under scrutiny and, in the wake of tariff increases from US President Donald Trump, suggesting more punitive action could come in advance of bilateral trade negotiations.

Officials from the Ministry of Commerce and other authorities in Beijing held discussions with representatives of the company on Tuesday to address rumours the big box giant is demanding some of its Chinese suppliers significantly lower their prices.

This, according to Yuyuantantian – the social media account of state broadcaster CCTV – would shift the cost of new US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods to domestic suppliers and consumers.

“Walmart’s unilateral demand on Chinese firms to cut prices could lead to disruptions of supply chains and hurt the interests of firms and consumers from both countries,” the account said.

“If Walmart insists on doing so, then what would happen next would be beyond talks.”

Last week, China revealed its response to new tariffs levied by the United States on its goods. It sanctioned a number of US firms, applied additional tariffs of 10-15 per cent on select American products and announced plans to bring a case to the World Trade Organization over the matter.

A 15 per cent duty was applied to imports of US poultry and agricultural products including wheat, corn and cotton, and a rate of 10 per cent for imports of soybeans, pork, beef, fruit, vegetables and dairy.