China chose a new main negotiator for international trade on Wednesday because of disagreements about taxes on goods with the U.S.

The government said that Li Chenggang will replace Wang Shouwen. Wang Shouwen was part of the trade talks for the 2020 trade deal between China and the U.S.

The two biggest economies in the world have been putting higher taxes on each other's products since the U.S. increased taxes on many countries. China has to pay a 145% tax on things it sells to the U.S., but most other countries had 90 days before they had to pay most taxes.

On Wednesday, China said its economy grew by 5.4% from January to March. This growth was helped by strong exports. But experts think the economy will grow much slower in the next few months. This is because new taxes on Chinese goods sent to the U.S. will start to have an effect.

A major reason for China's 5% yearly growth in 2024 was exports, and the government's goal for this year is still around 5%.

Beijing has answered the U.S. by adding a 125% tax on American products. However, it also said it wants to keep its markets open for buying and selling.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the tariffs will cause problems for China's economy in the short term, but they will not stop its growth in the future.

It wasn't clear why China was changing the people who negotiate for them. This change happens as Chinese officials say they have different ways to respond to what the U.S. does. They could use their own big market of 1.4 billion buyers more, or work with Europe and countries in the southern part of the world. But because people in China are still not buying much, it will be difficult to replace the American buyer.

China also put more limits on sending rare earths out of the country. These materials are used in advanced technology, making planes and rockets, and military equipment.

Before he got his new job, Li was China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for about four and a half years. The WTO is in charge of international trade, and China has asked it to help solve its trade problem with the U.S.

He was also the second most important person for the Chinese group at the United Nations in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland.

He also worked as an assistant minister at the Ministry of Commerce and was the head of the ministry's Department of Treaties and Law.

Li studied law at Peking University in China and got a master's degree in economics of law from the University of Hamburg.