‘Bullying only leads to self-isolation’: Xi Jinping after US-China sign trade deal

Reiterating a warning he has issued since the trade war antics began with US President Donald Trump, Xinping said “There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars. Bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation.”

After successful negotiations over the weekend in Geneva, @POTUS reached an agreement with China to retain U.S. reciprocal tariffs on China, reduce Chinese retaliation and eliminate harmful countermeasures, and establish a path for future discussions regarding opportunities for… pic.twitter.com/PrfZRLnYGQ

— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) May 12, 2025

The speech by President Xi Jinping comes a day after US and China announced that they would strategically rollback drastic tariff measures against each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period, a breakthrough which has led to de-escalation of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies and bringing cheers in the global share market.

Trump had imposed a punishing 145% tariff on Chinese goods, and in a retaliatory measure, Beijing introduced a 125% tariff onUS products, leading the global financial markets into a trade war and stoking fears of a global recession.

Xi Jinping, while extending support to Latin Americans and Caribbeans said “In the face of seething undercurrents of geopolitical and bloc confrontation, and the surging tide of unilateralism and protectionism, China stands ready to join hands with our Latin American and Caribbean partners,” CNN quoted.

Trump had introduced reciprocal tariffs on all its global trading partners in April, imposing levies of 10% to 50% on almost all goods exported to the US, only to suspend the measure for a 90 day moratorium after the global economy went into crisis over uncertainty and instability in the demand and supply chain.