From May 10th to 11th local time, the high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States were held in Geneva, Switzerland. The Chinese leader, Vice Premier of The State Council He Lifeng, held in-depth consultations with the US leaders, US Treasury Secretary Bassent and Trade Representative Greer. This meeting focused on the issue of tariffs and made substantive progress. At 9:00 a.m. on May 12th, the two sides released the "Joint Statement on Economic and Trade Talks between China and the United States in Geneva", laying the foundation for the subsequent development of economic and trade relations.

Tariff reduction marks a new turning point for China-Us economic and trade cooperation

According to the joint statement, the tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese goods (including those from Hong Kong and Macao) have been significantly reduced from 145% to 30%. Meanwhile, the US side announced that it would suspend the implementation of the additional 24% tariff for the next 90 days, but still retain the remaining 10% tariff. In response, China also reduced its tariffs on the United States from 125% to 10%. This means that within the 90-day buffer period, both China and the United States will impose a 10% tariff. Although this adjustment is a temporary measure, it has brought a long-awaited breathing space to the cross-border e-commerce industry between China and the United States. U.S. Treasury Secretary Basent said, "Both countries have well safeguarded their own national interests." We all hope to achieve trade balance, and the United States will continue to strive in this direction.

Price increase or transformation: A choice for small and medium-sized sellers

Due to the impact of the US tariff policy, the profit margins of a large number of small and medium-sized cross-border sellers have been completely compressed, and they are facing survival difficulties. To cope with the predicament, some sellers choose to maintain profits by raising prices and pass on the cost pressure to consumers. Some sellers are also accelerating their transformation towards localized and brand-oriented operations, creating products and brands with greater premium pricing power to offset rising costs.

91% tariffs have been cancelled, with a 90-day critical period

The high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States have achieved remarkable results, significantly reducing the bilateral tariff levels. The US side has cancelled a total of 91% of the additional tariffs, and China has accordingly cancelled 91% of the countermeasures tariffs. The US has suspended the implementation of the 24% "reciprocal tariff", and China has accordingly suspended the implementation of the 24% countermeasures tariff. This measure is in line with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries, as well as the interests of both countries and the common interests of the world.

It is expected that China-Us economic and trade relations will return to the right track

It is hoped that the US side will, on the basis of this meeting, continue to work with China in the same direction, thoroughly correct the wrong practice of unilateral tax hikes, continuously strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, safeguard the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-Us economic and trade relations, and jointly inject more certainty and stability into the world economy. This joint statement stipulates a 90-day moratorium on implementation, which means that both sides have less than 90 days to complete the subsequent negotiations. Although 90 days seems ample, the actual negotiation pressure is still considerable.

The joint statement provides a basis for the negotiations

However, this joint statement has pointed out the direction for the negotiations at the political level, providing the space and basis for the negotiations. Although it is impossible to return to the past state, as long as the specific negotiations at the working level between the two sides can proceed in the right direction, the prospects of China-Us trade relations are still worth looking forward to.

The "recovery" opportunity of the textile industry chain

The textile industry is a typical export-oriented industry. It has a wide industrial chain extension, a large number of employees and a high degree of dependence on exports. As the largest export destination for China's textile and garment industry, the United States has its market demand closely linked to China's supply chain. Once decoupling occurs, the supply gap in the US market will be difficult to fill. Although the textile production capacity in Southeast Asian countries is gradually emerging at present, many of them still follow the path of importing yarns and fabrics from China and making them into ready-made garments for export locally. Moreover, these countries are not capable of undertaking some relatively high-quality products. The stability of Sino-US relations has a domino effect on the smooth operation of the entire textile industry chain.

From raw material links such as cotton yarn and chemical fibers, to weaving, dyeing and printing, garment processing, and then to terminal foreign trade sales, every link is deeply influenced by changes in the international market. In recent years, due to the combined impact of trade frictions and external shocks, many textile enterprises have been forced to reduce investment, postpone technological transformation, and even relocate some production links overseas.

The easing of Sino-US relations has provided a valuable window of opportunity for the industrial chain to restore confidence and restart the optimization process. On the one hand, it is conducive to the domestic integration of the industrial chain and the improvement of overall efficiency. On the other hand, it also helps enterprises concentrate resources on promoting key projects such as digital and intelligent transformation and green manufacturing, and accelerate high-quality development through policy opportunities.