TMTPOST --  China and U.S. are discussing a possible summit for heads of two countries in mid 2025, according to a report on Monday.

Credit：China Daily

Beijing and Washington have begun discussions about the a summit in June between Chinese president Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential meeting was dabbed as “birthday summit” as the two leaders were born in June, is a signal of willingness from both China and U.S. to inject some goodwill in their relationship amid ongoing trade tensions, the report said.

The aforementioned sources cautioned the talks about the reported the summit between China and U.S. are in the early stages and have not made any final decisions yet. Both the White House and the Chinese Embassy declined to comment on the report.

The talks on reported summit between Xi and Trump came as the Trump administration is doubling down its new tariffs on China for the alleged failure to stop the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl into the U.S.

The United States started to levy another 10% tariffs on imports from China from last Tuesday, making extra tariffs on China doubled to 20% since Trump returned to White House. China immediately retaliated with extra tariffs on certain U.S. exports.

The new tariffs on products imported from U.S. will go into effect from March 10. An additional 15% tariff will be imposed on imported chicken, wheat, corn and cotton originating from the United States, and sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products will be subject to an additional 10% tariff, according to a statement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on March 4.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) also announced China decided to add 10 American companies, including TCOM, Limited Partnership, to its unreliable entity list, prohibiting them from engaging in import and export activities related to China. The companies will also be banned from making new investments within the country.Disregarding strong objections from China, these 10 companies have in recent years either participated in arms sales to Taiwan or engaged in so-called military technology cooperation with Taiwan, the ministry said.

The recent countermeasures are well targeted and demonstrate China’s determination, Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with China Central Television (CCTV) commented in a post later Tuesday. It noted China, as the world's largest importer of agricultural products, is the largest export destination for American agricultural products, accounting for nearly one fifth of the total U.S. agricultural exports.

China's moves show that if U.S. insists on imposing tariffs, China will resolutely hit back and fight to the end, and the United States will pay a price and shoot itself in the foot, Yuyuan Tantian cited professionals.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated China's opposition to U.S. tariffs, and noted anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.

“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other’s concerns. If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” said Lin.

The U.S. should not return good with evil, or even impose arbitrary tariffs, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi  commented on the U.S. additional tariffs  using the fentanyl issue as a pretext last Friday.The abuse of fentanyl in the United States is a problem that must be confronted and resolved by the United States itself, Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress.

China’s retaliatory tariffs followed a “restrained, targeted approach aimed at causing pain to those industries that matter the most to the supporters of the Trump administration,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center for the Conference Board. He believes China left room for negotiations to potentially avoid even more damaging tariffs in the future.

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