China will hold off on entering serious trade talks with the US while it waits to see which of Donald Trump’s advisers will have his ear and how other countries will respond to the 90-day pause on tariffs, according to sources.
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The Trump administration was “too divided” and China was in no rush to negotiate an end to the tariff deadlock that Washington initiated, according to a source familiar with the situation.
“There is no clear sign which clique will win,” the source said, referring to the various camps of Trump’s top advisers.
Three of Trump’s top trade advisers have divergent views on how to deal with China. Peter Navarro and Robert Lighthizer are known for their strongly protectionist positions and advocacy of US-China decoupling, while Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, thinks it is possible to get a trade deal with China to rebalance the trade system.
The source said that the differences in these views and the uncertainty around what Trump’s final call would be had made Beijing reluctant to enter into talks.
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To do so would risk “revealing your cards when you don’t even know who your opponent will eventually be”, the source added.
Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, said in an article on Thursday that the US had recently sought to contact the Chinese “through multiple channels” to start trade talks.