China Appoints New Representative for International Trade Negotiations
On Wednesday, China appointed Li Chenggang as its new representative for international trade negotiations and deputy minister of commerce.
According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources, Li (58 years old) succeeds Wang Shouwen (59 years old), who participated in the 2020 trade agreement negotiations between China and the United States.
Li Chenggang, who has served as China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva since 2021, has years of experience in international negotiations at the Ministry of Commerce.
This appointment comes weeks after a series of tariff exchanges between Washington and Beijing.
Since returning to the White House in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on Chinese goods by 145% (excluding electronic products), prompting the Asian giant to respond with additional tariffs of up to 125%.
China has been appointing representatives for international trade negotiations at the ministerial level since 2010 to better defend its interests and reach more trade agreements.
