China chose a new main person for international trade talks on Wednesday. This happened because of problems with tariffs with the U.S.

The government said Li Chenggang will take the job of Wang Shouwen. Wang Shouwen worked on the trade deal between China and the U.S. in 2020.

The two biggest economies in the world have been putting more taxes on things they buy from each other. The U.S. started this by adding taxes on goods from many countries. China now pays much higher taxes on things they sell to the U.S. Other countries did not have to pay these taxes for three months on most products.

On Wednesday, China said its economy grew by 5.4% from January to March. This was because they sold a lot of goods to other countries. But experts think China's economy will grow slower soon. This is because the U.S. is putting extra taxes on things from China.

China's economy grew by 5% in 2024. Selling goods to other countries was a big reason for this growth. The government still wants the economy to grow by about 5% this year.

Beijing is angry with the U.S. and has put a 125% tax on things from America. It also says it wants its markets to be open for business and money from other countries.

New taxes will make China's economy a little weaker now, but they will not stop it from growing strong later, a government spokesperson said.

It was not clear why China changed the people for the talks. This change happened because Chinese officials said China had many ways to answer the U.S. They could use their own big market with 1.4 billion buyers, and also work with Europe and countries in the global south. But people in China are not buying much, so it will be hard to find new buyers instead of the American ones.

China also put more limits on sending rare earths to other countries. These rare earths are used in things like computers, planes, and military equipment.

Before his new job, Li worked as China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization for about 4 and a half years. This group helps countries trade with each other. China has asked this group for help with the taxes the US put on their products.

He also worked for China at the United Nations in Geneva and other international groups in Switzerland.

He also worked as an assistant minister at the Ministry of Commerce. He was also the head of the department for agreements and laws.

Li studied law at Peking University in China and economics of law at the University of Hamburg.