(Yicai) March 12 -- Chinese authorities, including the commerce ministry, have summoned Walmart executives after the American retail giant allegedly pressured local suppliers to lower prices in response to US tariff hikes, an affiliate of state broadcaster China Media Group reported today.

The talks were intended to prove to Walmart that unilaterally demanding price reductions from Chinese companies could disrupt supply chains and harm the interests of firms and consumers in both China and the United States, CMG's WeChat commentary account Yuyuantantian reported.

Since last month, the Trump administration has imposed two rounds of 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports. In response, China has also levied additional tariffs on some energy, agricultural, and automotive products originating from the US.

Bloomberg reported on March 6, citing people familiar with the matter, that Walmart has asked some Chinese suppliers for major price cuts to shift the burden of President Donald Trump's tariffs. For some suppliers, including producers of kitchenware and clothing, the requests have reached as high as 10 percent reductions per round of tariffs, a move that would make many unprofitable, the report added.

China is an indispensable source of supply and a vital consumer market for Walmart, Yuyuantantian claimed. Currently, about 60 percent of products sourced by the Arkansas-based chain come from China, and in the past fiscal year, Walmart's sales growth in the Chinese market significantly outpaced that of the US market.

In the three months ended January 31, Walmart's global revenue increased 4 percent year-over-year to USD180.6 billion. Meanwhile, income from the Chinese market jumped 28 percent to USD5.1 billion, mainly due to the rapid growth of e-commerce business and the surging sub-brand Sam's Club, according to the latest financial report.

Yuyuantantian said that Walmart should engage in fair, reasonable, and amicable negotiations with Chinese suppliers to jointly address the challenges posed by US tariffs.

Besides the tariff hikes, China has placed 10 American companies, including genetic sequencing firm Illumina, on its so-called unreliable entity list, barring them from conducting import and export business with China.

Editor: Emmi Laine