Amid Trump tariffs, China's trade and economy tsar steps into spotlight

By Laurie Chen, Michael Martina

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When the leaders of immoderate of the world's largest companies flocked to Beijing for a concern forum past month, their main intent was a coveted gathering with Chinese person Xi Jinping.

But galore were near impressed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to a U.S. concern idiosyncratic briefed connected the encounters.

A longtime confidant of the Chinese leader, He serves arsenic Xi's main lieutenant overseeing the world's second-largest economy,

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Xi to telephone him for discussions astir a imaginable commercialized woody aft slapping 145% tariffs connected astir Chinese goods arsenic portion of his "Liberation Day" salvo connected April 2.

But immoderate off-ramp to the economical tensions volition apt tally done He, who is Xi's Sino-American commercialized tsar.

Reuters interviewed 13 overseas investors and diplomats who met with He implicit the past year. They described the 70-year-old's improvement from a stiff Communist Party apparatchik with non-existent English and a reluctance to stray from prepared remarks into a much assured fig who has impressed them with his quality to get things done.

Most of the radical spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon confidential interactions with He, who besides wields immense regulatory oversight implicit China's sprawling fiscal sector.

The vice premier has held astatine slightest 60 meetings with foreigners successful the past year, according to Reuters' reappraisal of his nationalist engagements. That marks a dependable summation from 45 betwixt March 2023, erstwhile helium took bureau arsenic vice premier, and March 2024.

China's State Council did not respond to a faxed petition for comment. The White House, which has since signalled a willingness to de-escalate, declined to respond to questions astir its willingness to prosecute with He.

Trump has asserted respective times that Beijing and Washington were already successful commercialized talks and helium told Time mag successful an interrogation published Friday that Xi had called him, without specifying when. The 2 leaders had spoken earlier Trump took bureau successful January.

China has repeatedly denied that tariff-related negotiations were ongoing, though it connected Friday exempted immoderate U.S. goods from its retaliatory tariffs. Beijing has besides demanded that Washington halt making threats and utilizing "extreme pressure" if it wants to marque a deal, arsenic good arsenic asking America for a counterpart for imaginable talks.

If elaborate discussions begin, Li Chenggang, Beijing's recently appointed main commercialized negotiator, volition enactment connected a day-to-day level. But He volition person a cardinal relation overseeing those talks, successful which Washington volition effort to trim its astir $300 cardinal goods commercialized shortage with Beijing.