Comment from Hu Xijin
China softening the stance? This is a useless speculation. Beijing is willing to negotiate but now is very much convinced fair talks are impossible without a thorough fight. The Chinese realized they were a bit naive before, believing trade talks can yield good results.
Hu has become a bit of a spokesman for China in the English media. He's been right lately and it's tough to imagine this is speculation on his part. More importantly, this doesn't sound like China believes that something better is coming any time soon. They're getting ready for it to get worse.