China praises U.S. firms amid trade tensions as Trump plans new tariffs on Chinese goods

China’s state media praised U.S. firms like Apple and Tesla for their collaboration with Chinese partners as trade tensions resurface. This comes after Donald Trump announced plans for a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, aiming to address the flow of chemicals linked to the opioid crisis in the U.S.

China’s state media have commended certain U.S. firms for their “strong collaboration” – a narrative that arises amidst concerns of a trade war and echoes the tone adopted by Chinese newspapers during Donald Trump’s first presidency.

Trump, who assumes office on 20 January, announced on Monday his intention to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods to press Beijing into doing more to curb the flow of Chinese-manufactured chemicals fueling the opioid crisis in the United States. He has also previously threatened tariffs exceeding 60% on Chinese goods during his campaign.

During Trump’s first term, corporate executives and foreign investors scrutinised Chinese state media for indications of which U.S. firms might receive favour or face penalties as trade tensions intensified.

On Wednesday evening, the state-owned Global Times commended Apple (AAPL.O), Tesla (TSLA.O), Starbucks (SBUX.O), and HP (HPE.N) for their strong collaboration with Chinese partners. “U.S. politicians need to pay attention to and respect the evident willingness of American businesses for economic and trade cooperation by tailoring suitable policy environments for enterprises,” it stated.

The China Daily likewise highlighted that Morgan Stanley (MS.N) obtained regulatory approval in March to expand its operations in China, presenting this as evidence of foreign financial firms’ eagerness to invest in the country. During Trump’s initial term, the U.S.-Sino trade war saw China threaten to block U.S. companies from importing, exporting, and investing in the country via the introduction of an “Unreliable Entity List.”

At the time, Global Times reported that the list could target U.S. firms such as Apple, Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), and Qualcomm (QCOM.O). However, Beijing ultimately refrained from implementing this threat, with the list so far including only U.S. companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan.

“Neither side was good about communicating policy directly, so businesses were left to interpret the signals from traditional and social media,” remarked a Beijing-based American executive. The executive, who was also in China during Trump’s first term, is not authorised to speak publicly and declined to be named.

Bo Zhengyuan, a Shanghai-based partner at consultancy Plenum, anticipated that Beijing would be unlikely to quickly deploy measures such as the Unreliable Entity List following any formal tariff announcement under Trump’s administration, given the fragile state of China’s economy. However, he noted that Beijing could retaliate later if U.S. policymakers were perceived as undermining China’s commercial interests.

“There was collateral damage last time, and there will be collateral damage this time. But I believe the Chinese government, given the current foreign investment climate, is aware that such tactics could provoke backlash,” he added.

During Trump’s first term, Chinese authorities rarely issued direct statements about the trade war. So far this week, officials in mainland China have avoided commenting directly on the proposed 10% tariff, although a Chinese embassy representative in Washington remarked that no one stands to gain from a trade war.

Only 47% of U.S. companies expressed optimism about their five-year business prospects in China, according to a September survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

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