Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the impact of China's tariff retaliation against the U.S. on domestic inflation, particularly focusing on the effects on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) [2][12]. Group 1: Import Structure from the U.S. - In 2024, China's total imports from the U.S. are projected to be $163.6 billion, accounting for 6.3% of total imports, a slight decrease from 6.4% in the previous year [4][13]. - The import structure consists of approximately 34% capital goods, 34% industrial supplies, and 31% consumer goods, with significant changes observed since 2018, particularly a decrease in automobile imports and an increase in food imports [4][13]. - An analysis of specific HS4 categories reveals two types of imports: those that are low in volume but highly dependent on the U.S. (e.g., high-protein sorghum) and those that are high in volume but have low dependency on the U.S. (e.g., crude oil) [4][13]. Group 2: Impact on CPI - Using the structural decomposition method, it is estimated that the 34% tariff could increase the CPI by approximately 0.09 percentage points if fully passed through [5][6][19]. - The cost transmission method suggests that the tariff could lead to a 2.2% increase in the import price index, which would translate to a CPI increase of about 0.19 percentage points [7][8][22]. - Historical experience indicates that similar tariffs in 2018 resulted in an average CPI increase of 0.11 percentage points, leading to an estimated increase of 0.28 percentage points for the current tariff scenario [10][25]. Group 3: Methodology for CPI Impact Assessment - The assessment of CPI impact involved three methods: structural decomposition, cost transmission, and historical experience, each yielding different estimates for the potential increase in CPI due to the tariffs [5][22][25]. - The structural decomposition method involved selecting significant import categories and matching them to CPI components, while the cost transmission method relied on historical correlations between import price indices and CPI [17][22]. - The historical experience method extrapolated from past tariff impacts, adjusting for the differences in the composition of goods affected by the tariffs [10][25].