On May 12, China and the US reached phase solutions to tariff disputes at Geneva talks, while China deepened Belt and Road cooperation with multiple countries to promote trade and investment.
1. Phase Solutions Reached in China-US Tariff Disputes
On May 12, China and the US issued the Geneva Joint Statement on Economic and Trade Talks, reaching phase consensus on months-long tariff disputes. The US will formally revoke 91% of the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods on April 8 and 9, 2025, covering major categories like electronic devices and mechanical components; 24% of the "reciprocal tariffs" implemented on April 2 will be suspended for 90 days, with the remaining 10% retained as negotiation leverage. Meanwhile, the ad valorem tax rate for cross-border parcels under $800 will be cut from 120% to 54%, and the planned increase in specific duties scheduled for June 1 will be canceled.China will simultaneously terminate 91% of its counter-tariffs on US goods, covering key sectors like agricultural products and medical devices; for the 10% tariffs retained by the US, China will suspend 24% of its 34% counter-tariffs for 90 days, with the remaining 10% kept as follow-up negotiation chips. Additionally, restrictions on 17 US companies under the "Unreliable Entity List" will be suspended, and export controls on 28 US firms in tech-intensive fields like semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals will be lifted.
2. China-Russia Cooperation: Strategic Pivot Role of the Eurasian Land Bridge
As a core hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, Russia has become a key strategic pivot for Chinese high-end equipment "going global" through its geographic advantages and policy dividends. Data from China Customs shows that China-Russia trade grew from 89.2 billion in 2013 to 244.8 billion in 2024, with China remaining Russia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. As of August 2024, the total investment in 86 joint large-scale projects between the two sides is expected to reach 18 trillion rubles, covering diverse sectors like raw materials and automotive manufacturing.Under the institutional guarantee of deepening China-Russia strategic coordination from the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress, the Moscow branch of the Domestic Scientific Instruments Exhibition and Trading Center is being rapidly established. Integrating functions like exhibition, trading, warehousing, and after-sales services, it has formed strategic partnerships with Lomonosov Moscow State University to build efficient platforms for government-enterprise collaboration and technology implementation.
3. China-ASEAN: Free Trade Area Upgrading Drives Two-Way Economic Integration
China-ASEAN economic cooperation continues to deepen, with bilateral trade reaching 6.99 trillion RMB ($985 billion) in 2024 (15.9% of China's total foreign trade), making each other's largest trading partners for 16 consecutive years. With the substantive conclusion of negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, innovative breakthroughs have been made in the digital economy: Guangxi's "Silk Road E-commerce" platform has driven nearly 25 billion RMB in online retail sales of ASEAN products in China and incubated over 200 overseas influencer teams; a 12-province e-commerce cooperation alliance in western China has established a two-way circulation system of "buying from all over China to sell to ASEAN, and vice versa."
4. China-EU Cooperation: New Breakthroughs in Green Transition and Digital Economy
Trade between China and Central and Eastern European countries reached 142.3 billion in 2024 (up 6.3% year-on-year), a record high. Hungary has become a hotspot for Chinese new energy investments, with companies like BYD and CATL establishing EV and battery projects, totaling over 24 billion in investments in Central and Eastern Europe. Logistics infrastructure has been upgraded simultaneously, with the China-EU Railway Express e-commerce line from Shenzhen to Budapest reducing delivery time to 10 days, and the Urumqi-Belgrade air cargo route taking just 10 hours.In talent and tech cooperation, Beijing has ranked among the top 10 global cities in talent retention for five consecutive years (5th globally), while the China-EU Talent Forum provides a new platform for collaborative innovation in digital technology and green manufacturing.
5. Middle East and Central Asia: Accelerated Investment and Connectivity in Emerging Markets
Middle Eastern investments in China have shown diversified growth, exceeding 9 billion in 2024 across energy, high-tech, and finance. Examples include Saudi Aramco's 24.6 billion RMB investment in Rongsheng Petrochemical, Qatar Investment Authority's strategic stake in ChinaAMC, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's 1.1 billion investment in NIO, demonstrating Middle Eastern confidence in the Chinese market. Clean energy investments reached 27 billion (up 17.4% YoY), becoming a new growth pole.
In Central Asia, key progress has been made in connectivity, with the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, which will open a new transport corridor between Asia-Pacific and Europe upon completion; the China-Kazakhstan Zhanatas Wind Farm (the largest in Central Asia) generates 350 million kWh annually, easing power shortages in southern Kazakhstan. China's trade with the five Central Asian nations neared 90 billion in 2023 (up 27.2% YoY), with deepening cooperation in emerging fields like digital economy and e-commerce.
6. Industrial Insights: Seizing Opportunities to Promote "Smart Manufacturing in China"
The phase easing of China-US tariff frictions provides a window of opportunity for global supply chain restructuring, but the long-term competitive landscape in technology remains unchanged. China's instrumentation industry must leverage policy support and market demand to accelerate technological innovation, improve industrial ecosystems, and diversify risks through global strategic 布局 (strategic positioning).With the continuous advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, emerging markets represented by Russia, ASEAN, and Central and Eastern Europe are becoming critical frontiers for Chinese high-end equipment and scientific instruments to break through international market barriers. In the future, through deepened government-enterprise collaboration and enhanced technology implementation capabilities, China is poised to accelerate its transformation from "Made in China" to "Smart Manufacturing in China."
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