China chose a new chief trade negotiator on Wednesday. This decision was made because of ongoing disagreements with the U.S. about tariffs.

The government said that Li Chenggang will take the place of Wang Shouwen. Wang Shouwen helped with the trade talks between China and the U.S. in 2020.

The two biggest economies in the world have been slowly putting more taxes on things they sell to each other. This started after the U.S. put more taxes on many countries. China has to pay 145% taxes on things it sells to the U.S. But other countries had 90 more days before they had to pay most of these taxes.

China's economy grew by 5.4% early this year because they sold many things to other countries. But experts think the economy will grow slower soon because the U.S. is adding taxes on things from China.

Exports helped China's economy grow by 5% in 2024. The government wants it to grow by about 5% this year too.

China put high taxes on some things from the U.S. They also said they want to keep their markets open for buying and selling.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters that the new taxes will make China's economy struggle for a short time, but they won't stop it from growing in the future.

It wasn't clear why China changed who was negotiating for them. This change happens as China says they have many ways to respond to the US. They can use their own big market of 1.4 billion people, and work with Europe and countries in the global south. But because people in China are not spending much money, it will be hard to replace American buyers.

China also put limits on selling rare earth to other countries. Rare earth is used to make things like advanced technology, airplanes, and military items.

Before his new job, Li worked as China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization for about four and a half years. This group manages trade between countries, and China has asked them for help with their trade problem with the U.S.

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

He also worked as an assistant minister and the head of the law department in the Ministry of Commerce.

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