China signaled the nation is “assessing” potential trade talks with the U.S. amid the Trump administration’s trade war but urged Washington to show “sincerity” to establish trust. 

“As the #US has recently reached out through relevant channels multiple times, expressing a desire to engage in talks with China over #tariff issues, #China is currently assessing the situation,” a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in a statement, shared on social platform X by the Chinese Embassy.

“In any potential dialogue or talks, if the US does not rectify its erroneous unilateral tariff measures, it would demonstrate a complete lack of sincerity and further undermine mutual trust,” the ministry added. “Saying one thing while doing another, or even attempting to use talks as a cover for coercion and blackmail, will not work with China.” 

President Trump realigned the global trade parameters early last month when he issued his latest round of sweeping tariffs, which affected nearly all foreign trading partners. He paused the majority of reciprocal tariffs, but Beijing — one of the U.S.’s top trading partners — was notably left out of the deal. A baseline 10 percent duty is still in effect for most imports.

Trump initially raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 20 percent earlier this year, claiming the nation had done little to curb the influx of illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, into the U.S. The president escalated the trade war against the world’s second largest economy with his “Liberation Day” tariffs paired with retaliatory measures that raised import taxes on China to 145 percent.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that U.S. officials are working to negotiate deals on tariffs but highlighted that China was put “to the side.” 

“We are batching them in groups at a time. But, you know, we’ve had 100 approach us, and we are working with the top 17 to try to move them along as quickly as possible,” Bessent said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.” 

Still, the administration opted to end the de minimis tariff loophole for low-value goods from China, an exemption essential for online retailers such as Temu, Shein and Amazon. 

China is reportedly looking at options to tackle the U.S. concerns about Beijing’s part in the fentanyl trade. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s security czar, Wang Xiaohong, has asked the Trump administration in recent days about what Washington wants China to do about fentanyl’s chemical ingredients, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the talks. 

Despite some pushback from Chinese officials, Trump has seemingly been optimistic about reaching a deal with China.