In preparation for Trump’s tariffs, Xi makes a diplomatic push at world meetings

In his first meetings with world leaders since Donald Trump was re-elected as president of the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping went on the attack in terms of diplomacy. He did this to protect China from new tariffs that were expected and to get ready to take advantage of any future disagreements between the US and its allies.

Xi tried to show that he was different from Trump’s “America First” message at every meeting this week, from APEC in Peru to G20 in Brazil. He did this by showing himself as a reliable supporter of the multilateral global trade order.

Summit organizers, ambassadors, and negotiators also say that Chinese diplomats were more open and helpful than at previous summits. They were less focused on their own narrow interests and more on building a wider consensus.

Beijing needs to reach out right away. If Trump wins again, many tech companies will depend much less on U.S. imports, making China better prepared. However, China is more vulnerable now that its economy has been hit by a huge property problem.

China has paid a lot of attention to the Global South. For example, the state news outlet Xinhua praised the G20 for including the African Union as a member. Xinhua said that the Global South’s voice had to be “not only heard but also translated into tangible influence.”

In his Monday speech to the G20, Xi reaffirmed China’s stance on “unilaterally opening our doors wider to the least developed countries.” He also talked about China’s plan to give all of these countries “zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines.”

By making these kinds of moves, China wants to become even more dominant in parts of the developing world where the U.S. has been behind for a long time because it hasn’t been able to match China’s billion-dollar spending.

This is a planned message from China to show that it supports globalization and opposes protectionism. It comes at a time when many countries in the Global South are afraid that the U.S. might return to unfair trade and tariff policies, especially under Trump’s leadership, said Sunny Cheung, associate fellow for China Studies at the Washington, DC-based Jamestown Foundation.

“Xi’s remarks aim to present China as a more stable and sensible and most importantly a reciprocal partner in contrast to perceived U.S. unpredictability.”

Tone of Conciliation

Trump has promised to put tariffs on Chinese imports that are higher than 60%. Economists polled by Reuters said they thought the U.S. would put tariffs on imports that were nearly 40%, which could cut growth in the world’s second-largest economy by up to 1%.

Some former Chinese diplomats quietly agree that developing countries won’t be able to make up for that loss. However, Xi has been putting a lot of faith in the growth of BRICS and making peace with Asian neighbors like India, Japan, and Australia.

Trump has also threatened European countries with taxes, so at the most recent meeting, they tried to find a middle ground with Xi.

During his meeting with Xi, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin would work to find a quick peace between the EU and China over Chinese electric cars.

In the first meeting between the two leaders of Britain and China since 2018, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was upbeat. He said he wanted to work with Beijing on trade, the economy, and climate change, as well as on science, technology, health, and education.
A professor of international affairs in Shanghai named Shen Dingli said that if Trump’s protectionist policies were aimed at U.S. allies in Europe, they would not “embrace” China, but they would work together more.

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Some ambassadors said that they had also seen a change in China’s behavior at these international meetings. They said that Beijing officials were now involved in a wider range of issues.

A Brazilian diplomat said, “China has always been much more quiet and only defended its most important interests.”

“Today, they seem to be realizing that they need to be more involved.” “Building economic power isn’t enough; they also need to be diplomatic if they want to get where they want to be in the world,” he said.

Some experts say that China’s outreach hides tensions between Beijing and other countries that weren’t there when Trump took office. This means that Trump’s return isn’t likely to completely change the way things work in the world of politics.

Western countries have long said that China unfairly trades with other countries, citing that the country’s support for manufacturers and low internal demand as reasons for the oversupply of Chinese goods on international markets.

China’s efforts to reach out could also be hard to accept in its own backyard, where its ships have fought with the Philippines and other neighbors over South China Sea claims many times.

Shi Yinhong, a professor at Beijing’s Renmin University, didn’t believe that Trump’s return would give China more power when dealing with the EU and other U.S. allies. He pointed out that there are already many battles going on over Ukraine, Taiwan, and other issues.

“China, of course, likes to improve relations with the EU and its major powers, but without much cost,” Shi said.

He also said that this meant the country would not give in on major issues like trade, human rights, and territorial disputes, “with or without Trump.” This, in turn, makes big and lasting peace impossible.

Shi also said that China’s slowing economy made it harder for the country to invest in and benefit from expensive building projects in the Global South.

Other experts say that even among these countries that agree with China, there is a sense of worry about its growing power. They use Brazil’s decision not to join Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative as an example.

According to Robert Evan Ellis, a professor at the U.S. Army War College, Brazil is worried about its relationship with China and wants to be the more important partner. “Brazil doesn’t want to be a satellite and wants a more equal, balanced trade relationship with more value added on the Brazilian side,” he said.