California governor Newsom reaffirms openness to China trade despite tariffs

California Governor Gavin Newsom has stated that his state remains open to trade with China, despite the 145 percent tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The governor described California, the largest state economy in the U.S., as a "stable partner" that has "extended an open hand" to China and other trading partners. His comments came during an online interview with Nikkei Asia, a major English-language business newspaper based in Japan.

Newsom emphasized that global trade is not a zero-sum game and that trading partners are fundamentally interdependent.

Speaking on ties with China, he noted that California and China have signed a series of cooperation memorandums at the provincial/state, city and county levels. He also expanded the state's engagement with China to the national level during his visit to the country in 2023.

Newsom said he has been outspoken in criticizing the Trump administration's trade policy, arguing that California has been disproportionately affected compared to other U.S. states.

The state not only has extensive trade ties with Asia but also hosts tech companies in Silicon Valley with deeply integrated supply chains and markets in the region, he said.

Trump's trade policy, he added, has had a severe impact not only on trade but also on tourism, harming both small businesses and large corporations, and inflicting "incalculable" damage to U.S. credibility.

The direct and indirect economic losses for California because of Trump's trade policy amount to billions of dollars, Newsom said.

Following Trump's April 2 announcement of so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on all U.S. trading partners, Newsom urged other economies not to impose retaliatory tariffs on goods from California.

The Golden State also became the first in the U.S. to sue the Trump administration over the tariff issue. California filed a lawsuit on April 16 against the federal government, challenging its use of emergency powers to impose extensive tariffs. State officials argued these tariffs threaten California's economy.

According to a policy analysis by research firm Trade Partnership Worldwide, California could pay over $170 billion in import taxes in 2025 under the new tariff structure.

California remains the most economically powerful state in the U.S. Citing data from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Newsom announced on April 23 that California's nominal GDP in 2024 had surpassed that of Japan. If calculated as a standalone economy, it would rank fourth in the world, behind only the U.S., China and Germany.