White House Privately Begging Xi To Call Trump First – But China Slapped 125% Tariff Instead

Financetwitter:


White House Privately Begging Xi To Call Trump First – But China Slapped 125% Tariff Instead


April 13th, 2025 by financetwitter



Less than 24 hours after Beijing slapped a 125% tariff on all types of American goods going into China in retaliation, President Trump has started showing weakness when he scrambles to undo some of his self-inflicted damage. The U.S. – in yet another embarrassing U-turn – has now exempted smartphones and computers from reciprocal tariffs, including the 125% taxes imposed on Chinese imports.




The flip-flopping comes after concerns from American tech companies that the price of gadgets could skyrocket simply because most of them are made in China. Some estimates suggested iPhone prices in the U.S. would jump “three times” (US$3,500 for an iPhone)if the costs of Trump’s tariffs were to be passed on to consumers. Up to 80% of Apple’s iPhones sale in the U.S. are made in China.



This shows not only Americans cannot survive without “cheap” Made-in-China iPhones, but also an admission of Trump’s mistake that had led to Apple losing US$640 billion in market value. The latest exemptions – a result of Trump’s half-baked tariff policy – also include other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, memory cards, flat panel TV displays and flash drives.



It also shows that the U.S. needs China more than China needs the U.S. The Chinese can stop buying soybeans from American farmers, but the U.S. can’t replace smartphones imported from China – worth more than US$41 billion in 2024, not to mention US$36 billion worth of computers and similar devices. Overall, the exemptions cover more than US$101 billion or 22% of U.S. imports from China.



Besides making 80% iPhones and iPads as well as half of Mac computer products for Apple, Foxconn in China also manufactures products for Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. But the damage to Apple is just a drop in the ocean. According to a study from Yale’s Budget Lab, Trump’s tariffs would cost the average American household about US$4,700 a year.



The new pricing of clothing and textile prices could spike up to 67%. Even Trump’s iconic “Make America Great Again” red hats, made in China, would see its price skyrockets. But for most businesses in the U.S., the damage will be “irreversible” soon as orders from China are being cancelled, including toys, furniture, apparel, and footwear and sports equipment.



If China wants to play dirty, it could increase the freshly baked tariff of 125% to 250% on smartphones and computer exports to the U.S. just to neutralize Trump’s exemption. This will definitely create a crisis in the United States. But the Chinese people are arguably the most pragmatic civilization in history. Unlike Donald Trump, they won’t cut the nose to spite the face.



Imagine a bully who punched you and then warned you not to retaliate. What if you don’t retaliate, but still the bully keeps punching you again because he mistaken your obedience as cowardice? That’s why China retaliates with equal force – matching the U.S. tariffs three times in a row. While Trump arrogantly said countries were queuing to “kiss his ass”, Vice President JD Vance rudely called the Chinese people as “peasants”.



The U.S. president might be busy with dozens of small and weak countries waiting to strike deals, lining up calls and meetings in the coming weeks. But one country is not in the list – China. Not only Beijing was out of reach, Xi Jinping did not even bother to answer the phone calls, which had been ringing off the hook, from the White House. The news from CNN was indeed humiliating to the Trump administration.



Apparently, before Beijing ratcheted up its own tariffs on American goods on Friday (April 11) to 125%, the White House had privately – and desperately – tried to engage with Beijing with two urgent messages. First, Trump’s team warned Chinese officials against retaliation. Second, it begged Chinese President Xi Jinping – once again – to request a call with U.S. President Donald Trump.



Instead, U.S. officials woke up to the news of increased Chinese tariffs (from 84% to 125%) and no request for a leader level call. Instead of calling Trump, Xi publicly lectured the Trump administration – “For over 70 years, China’s development has relied on self-reliance and hard work – never on handouts from others, and it is not afraid of any unjust suppression,”



Two senior White House officials told CNN that the U.S. will not reach out to China first. Trump has told his team that China must be the first to make the move. That’s because the U.S. president will lose face if he were to call the Chinese leader first. Not only Trump wanted to claim victory, that a trade war is easy to win, but also wanted to brag that President Xi kissed his ass like everyone else.



Unfortunately to Trump, Beijing refused to swallow the hook, line and sinker. As a result, China kept the U.S. waiting for two months, whilst Trump’s team continued to tell Chinese officials that Xi should request a call with Trump. The White House believes that Beijing has repeatedly refused to arrange a leader-level phone call as Xi does not want to be seen as weak by making the first move.



But China said any dialogue must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit. The foreign affairs ministry said – “If the U.S. truly wants to have talks, it should stop its capricious and destructive behaviour. For the welfare of the Chinese and the people of the world, for the fairness and justice of the global order, China will never bow to maximum pressure of the U.S. Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile”.



President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Advisor Peter Navarro all think China was an easy meat. But after Beijing retaliated with 125% tariff, making American goods no longer marketable in China, Bessent now said the U.S. is looking at ganging up with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and India to isolate China – called a “grand encirclement” strategy.



Clearly, Bessent panicked after Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, called for a European Union pivot toward China. His idea of ganging up with China’s neighbours to suppress Beijing was not only silly, but has a huge problem – Trump’s “America First” ideology. The U.S. president said himself – “Our allies have taken advantage of us more so than our enemies.”



If Trump would not think twice about betraying allies like the European Union, Canada, Japan and South Korea, what make Vietnam and Cambodia think – after threatened with high tariffs by the U.S. – that it’s a jolly good idea to ditch China in favour of America? Besides, Trump’s crusade is to destroy manufacturing jobs of the Vietnamese and the Cambodians.



The most popular belief in the U.S. that Uncle Sam will definitely win the tariff war against China is the argument that the “Chinese exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China”. The conclusion that Beijing will go bankrupt if Washington refuses to do business with them is not only foolish, but retarded. Do you really think the Chinese 5,000-year civilization will lose to the Americans 250-year civilization?



Like it or not, China doesn’t care even in the worst case scenario that it is totally de-coupled from the U.S. Before the United States was founded in 1776, the Middle Kingdom was already a thriving and prosperous empire. And before the existence of the U.S., China had continued its trade and commerce with the world for thousands of years. So, what is so special about a country with US$36 trillion in debt?



Only simpletons like Bessent and Navarro think Beijing can’t afford to escalate a trade war to a level that fully throttles the U.S. economy. China’s 125% tariff is the clearest proof that it has the firepower to escalate the trade war. By pausing some tariffs for dozens of countries for 90 days and exempting electronics from some of his tariffs, Mr Trump has blinked more than once, to the amusement of Mr Xi. Trump’s MAGA could mean “Make Asia Great Again”.