Amid US-China Tariff Tensions, China's Sixth-Ranking Official Visits Samsung Plant

Interpreting Moves to Secure Allies Amid the Tariff War

Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of the State Council and the sixth-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party, recently visited the Samsung Electronics Xi'an Semiconductor Plant. As the United States engages in a tariff war with China and other global trading partners, analysts interpret China's move as an effort to secure allies.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Vice Premier of the State Council, toured Shaanxi Province in northwestern China from April 14 to 16, visiting both the Samsung plant in Xi'an, the provincial capital, and the China-Europe freight train consolidation center.

This marks the first visit by a Standing Committee member of China's top leadership to the Samsung Xi'an plant in six years, since then-Premier Li Keqiang, who was ranked second, visited in 2019.

During his visit, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang stated, "Opening up to the outside world is a fundamental national policy of China," adding, "The stronger the resurgence of protectionism, the greater our determination to expand openness." He also targeted the United States, saying, "Tariff wars and trade wars win no public support, and China wants to deepen cooperation with all countries to achieve win-win outcomes."

Samsung Electronics Xi'an Semiconductor Plant in China

At a roundtable held in Xi'an, he emphasized, "Our economy has had a smooth start this year," and stressed the need to "implement more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies to fully unleash the strong resilience and vitality of our country's development."

Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang also stated, "We will comprehensively expand domestic demand, help foreign trade companies overcome difficulties, make greater efforts to stabilize employment, and respond strongly and effectively to external shocks."

Until just before joining the Politburo Standing Committee, the top leadership body, in 2022, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang served as Director of the General Office of the Central Committee and Director of the Presidential Office, effectively acting as Chief of Staff to President Xi Jinping. He is considered a key member of the 'Xi Jinping faction' (Xijiajun), a close-knit group of President Xi's confidants.