26-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Philippines urged to ‘strategically' work with China amid US tariff tensions
The Philippines should find ways to work with China 'strategically and selectively' to navigate the threat of sweeping tariffs imposed by the United States , analysts have said, following a call by a Chinese diplomat urging a unified response in the region.
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Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian made the call after he told local media on April 16 that negotiations for an updated version of the China-Asean Free-Trade Agreement had been concluded successfully amid an ongoing
trade war between the US and China
US President
Donald Trump imposed the steepest levies on China at 145 per cent. Beijing retaliated with a 125-per cent tariff on American imports.
The third version of the free-trade pact seeks to further reinforce trade ties between China and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
'We have [a] big stake in a free and fair international trading system … So, it serves a common interest of China and Asean to safeguard free trade [and] a stable and fair international economic order,' Huang said.
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