China's measures to collect special port charges for U.S. ships came into effect today, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent was released simultaneously. “The imposition of a 100% tariff on China does not necessarily happen.” signal, why can China's countermeasures make the United States relax?
October 14th became a key node in the Sino-US economic and trade game: The implementation measures of the Ministry of Transport of China to collect port fees from American ships have been implemented as scheduled.The statement of U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent in an interview clearly contradicts the previous tariff blackmail of the Trump administration.
This dramatic change in "China's counter-measures came into effect and the US's attitude cooled down" is no accident. It is the inevitable result of the balance of economic and trade forces between China and the United States and the evolution of game logic.
The unilateral provocation of the United States is the starting point of this game. As early as April 17, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued the final measures for a 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding fields. The port service charges will be levied on ships owned, operated or built by Chinese companies from 14 October, claiming that the move is "to safeguard the security of U.S. industry".
Such measures are clearly discriminatory, seriously violate the principle of equality and reciprocity of the Sino-U.S. Maritime Agreement, and also violate the WTO rules, directly politicize trade, and try to contain the development of China's shipping industry through unilateral pressure.
More provocatively, on October 10, Trump also suddenly resumed the tariff blackmail. Claiming that it would impose a 100% tariff on China triggered the S & P 500 index to fall more than 2% in a single day, the largest decline since April.
Faced with the pressure of the United States step by step, China's counter-measures show the dual characteristics of precise strike and rational restraint.
The special port charges that came into effect were not blind retaliation, but a carefully designed reciprocity.
The tariff specifically covers five categories of vessels related to the United States. Including vessels owned by U.S. companies, vessels operated by U.S. companies holding 25% or more of U.S. shares., blocking the avoidance space from the source.
The increased rate criteria are more strategic: Starting from October 14, 2025, 400 yuan per net ton will be gradually increased to 1120 yuan in the following three years, which not only releases the determination to counter measures, but also leaves a sufficient time window for negotiations。
Particularly crucial is that the policy exempts U.S.-related vessels built in China and airborne vessels that only come to repair vessels, both safeguarding the interests of the domestic shipbuilding industry and not completely disrupting the possibility of cooperation, showing the wisdom of "fighting and not breaking".
From this it is not difficult to see that the relaxation of the U.S. attitude is essentially the result of the superposition of internal and external pressure.
Internally, Trump's tariff threat triggered a strong rebound in the American business community. Many American companies worried that rising costs would weaken their competitiveness and tried to lobby the Trump administration to relax their tariff policy.
Shipping, agriculture and other industries that rely on trade with China are also called hardships, and farmers are concerned that the resumption of tariffs will lead to landfill of agricultural products such as soybeans, and SMEs face direct survival pressure.
The sharp reaction of the financial markets has given the U.S. alarm clock, and the U.S. stock fell sharply on October 11. Let the Trump administration realize that economic and trade confrontation has touched the sensitive nerves of the US economy.
Various factors make Trump have to think twice before shouldering the big stick of tariffs.
Just on October 12, Trump also rarely changed his tune and said that he was willing to reach an agreement with China to resolve differences.
However, judging from the chips held by both sides, China obviously occupies the initiative:
The gradient adjustment mechanism for shipping charges can vary flexibly according to U.S. actions, while rare-earth control and port hub status remain the core influence.
The United States is faced with the dual dilemma of domestic pressure and loss of bargaining chips. Although the remaining tariffs and technology control lists are deterrent, it is difficult to form effective suppression.
In this context, Bescent's "smoothing the situation" is not a complete turn, and he is still accusing "China's actions of being provocative". This contradictory statement reflects the line differences within the US government-
Pragmatists seek dialogue to ease economic pressure, while hardliners want to maintain deterrence to stabilize the fundamentals.
This means that the Sino-American game will still be a long-term process, and the softening of short-term attitudes does not represent a solution to fundamental contradictions.
But no matter what the U.S. position is, China’s position is always clear: Resistance is legitimate defense, not proactive provocation.
As a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said, China "is not willing to strike, but is not afraid to strike." U.S. tax hikes are not the right way.。
From the announcement of the 301 investigation by the United States in April to the effective effect of China's countermeasures, China has always maintained an open attitude towards consultation and communication throughout the process. It was only the negative attitude of the United States in the early stage that led to the escalation of the situation.
The special port fee, which has come into effect now, is not so much a "real" confrontation as a strategy of "promoting peace through fighting".
Perhaps the final lesson of this game is: The rules of fairness are never compromised, but are gradually established in a game of equals.。