Washington, February 1
US President Donald Trump said he would soon meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to try to secure a comprehensive trade deal between the world’s two largest economies as the two-day talks to resolve the conflict that has rattled the global economy ended without any agreement.
The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade spat since early 2018, raising import tariffs on each other’s goods.
Last year, Trump imposed tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on USD 250 billion of Chinese goods. The move prompted China to increase tariffs on USD 110 billion of US goods. Trump and Xi agreed to halt any further tariff increases for 90 days beginning January 1.
During the latest round of talks, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer led the US delegation while Vice Premier Liu He headed the Chinese side.
The White House said in a statement that the two sides had made progress but that “much work remains to be done”. The administration said it would keep a “hard deadline” of March 2, at which point it would escalate import taxes on USD 200 billion in Chinese good if there was no deal.
Trump, speaking at the White House on Thursday during a meeting with Liu, said he was optimistic the world’s two largest economies could reach “the biggest deal ever made”.
Responding to a question, Trump said the two countries had made “tremendous progress in trade negotiations. It doesn’t mean you have a deal, but I can say there is a tremendous relationship and warm feeling”.
Trump has reiterated that the US tariffs will increase unless China agrees to reforms by the March 1 deadline.
“There are some points that we don’t agree to yet, but I think we will agree. I think, when President Xi and I meet, every point will be agreed to,” said Trump.
“We’re going to have a great trade deal with China if it all works out…it’s going to be great for both countries--not just us, not just them,” he added.
China too struck an upbeat tone on the outcome of the two-day talks, noting that negotiators had discussed a range of issues, but focused on the trade imbalance, intellectual property rights protection, and the implementation mechanism of any eventual deal reached.
“Both sides have also set out a timeline and roadmap for the next step of talks,” state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
China agreed to increase imports of US goods and boost cooperation on protecting intellectual property, it said.
China is facing the daunting task of presenting a credible plan to meet Trump’s demands to cut down the USD 375 billion trade deficit. PTI
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2CZ0eRx
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