China’s foreign minister demands that the U.S. remove tariffs and sanctions

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during a forum in Beijing on Monday called on the United States to end the “suppression” of Chinese tech companies, including the removal of tariffs and sanctions.

The forum was titled “Bringing China-U.S. Relations Back to the Right Track.”

In the last three years, former U.S. President Donald Trump sanctioned several Chinese companies on the grounds of national security concerns. Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is one of the big companies that suffered the implications of the U.S. sanctions, thereby, causing the company to drop from its number one spot in the world smartphone vendor list to sixth place last year.

In the ongoing U.S.-China tension, it seems to be that the United States has had more say over the matter. China has now called on the U.S. to remove all restricting conditions laid out for Chinese technology companies and “abandon irrational suppression of China’s technological progress, so as to create necessary conditions for China-U.S. cooperation,” Wang said, as translated to official English by the Chinese foreign ministry.

“Under the current circumstances, the two sides may start from easier things, interact actively and build up goodwill,” Wang said. “We hope that the U.S. side will adjust its policies as soon as possible” adding that both countries are still capable of doing great things for the world.

In addition to China’s request, Wang has asked that the U.S. support international Chinese students and take out every restriction placed on cultural groups and media outlets in American institutions.

“From China’s perspective, the responsibility of the deterioration in China-U.S. relations during the Trump administration lies mainly with the U.S.,” Zhou Qi, director of Institute of Global Governance and Development at Tongji University. “To get the ties back on track, the U.S. needs to change its attitude first.”

The tension between both countries which has been around for a while accelerated during former President Trump’s administration. The past administration used levies and blacklists as a way to address longtime complaints about China’s lack of intellectual property protection, and other things the country has been accused of over the years.

There is no telling yet what the U.S. response to China’s demands would be. U.S. President Joe Biden is determined to maintain his stand on restricting Chinese companies in the U.S. In a speech on Friday, the President told European allies that they must cooperate to put up a long-term competition with China.

Biden is also determined on continuing with the sanctions the Trump administration put in place. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week that tariffs from the previous administration will remain in place and changes will only occur if China adheres to the trade deal demands.