China chose a new main international trade negotiator on Wednesday as trade disagreements with the U.S. continue.

The government said that Li Chenggang will replace 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 putting more taxes on each other's products. This started when the U.S. put higher taxes on goods from many countries. China now has to pay 145% taxes on things it sends to the U.S., but most other countries had a 90-day break from these taxes.

Earlier on Wednesday, China reported that its economy grew by 5.4% each year from January to March, helped by strong exports. However, experts believe that the world's second biggest economy will grow much slower in the next few months because of new taxes on goods coming from China to the U.S.

Selling goods to other countries played a big part in China's 5% yearly growth in 2024, and the official goal for this year is still around 5%.

Beijing has responded to the U.S. by putting a 125% tax on American goods. They also said they want to keep their markets open for trade and investment.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters that the new taxes will cause problems for China's economy in the short term, but they will not stop its growth in the long term.

It wasn't clear why China was changing the people who negotiate for them. This change happened when Chinese officials said they had different ways to react to the US. For example, they could depend more on their big market of 1.4 billion people, and on Europe and countries in the global south. But because people in China are not buying much, it will be difficult to replace the American consumer.

China also put more limits on sending rare earths to other countries. These materials are important for making high-tech products, airplanes, and things for the military.

Before he got his new job, Li worked for about four and a half years as China's representative to the World Trade Organization. This is the group that controls trade between countries, and China has asked them for help with its argument with the U.S. about taxes on goods.

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

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

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