Amidst ongoing tariff tensions with the United States, China announced on Wednesday the appointment of Li Chenggang as its new international trade negotiator.

The government stated that Li Chenggang had been appointed to succeed Wang Shouwen, who had participated in the 2020 US-China trade agreement negotiations.

The world's two largest economies are systematically raising tariffs on each other's goods following the US's decision to increase duties on products from numerous countries. China now faces a 145% tax on exports to the US, while most other nations were granted a 90-day exemption on the majority of tariffs.

Early on Wednesday, China announced that its economy expanded at an annualised rate of 5.4% in the first quarter, attributing this robust growth to strong exports. However, analysts are predicting a substantial slowdown for the world's second-largest economy in the coming months, as tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the US take effect.

Exports are significantly contributing to China's projected annual growth rate of 5% in 2024, aligning with the official target set at approximately 5% for the current year.

北京は貿易と投資のために市場を開放し続けると改めて述べましたが、同時にアメリカからの輸入品には125%の関税をかけました。これはアメリカに対抗するためです。

While these tariffs will exert pressure on the Chinese economy in the short term, they are not anticipated to impede long-term growth, according to Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, who stated this to reporters.

中国が交渉担当者を変えた理由ははっきりしていませんが、この変更は、中国政府がアメリカの行動に対抗するために、14億人の大きな国内市場や、ヨーロッパ、グローバルサウスの国々にもっと頼るなど、いくつかの方法を持っていると言っている中で起こりました。しかし、中国国内の消費はまだ弱いので、アメリカの消費者の代わりになるのは難しいとも言われています。

China has further imposed stringent export controls on materials, including rare earths, utilized in high-tech products, aerospace manufacturing, and defense sectors.

Prior to his new appointment, Li served for approximately four and a half years as China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), providing support when Beijing lodged complaints with this international trade regulatory body during its tariff disputes with the United States.

Furthermore, he has also served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Chinese Delegation to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland.

He also worked as an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Commerce and as a Director in the Department of Commerce's Treaty Law section.

李氏は、中国の著名な北京大学で法学の学士号を、そしてハンブルク大学で経済法の修士号を取得するという輝かしい学歴を有しています。