ZCZC
BCN-05
CHINA-US-ECONOMY-TRADE-DIPLOMACY
US officials to meet Xi as trade talks near end
BEIJING, Feb 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Top US economic officials were to meet on
Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the sides aim to wrap up trade
talks in Beijing with enough goodwill to extend a truce in their tariff war.
The world’s two biggest economies are seeking an accord to bridge their
deep trade differences, after President Donald Trump set a March 1 deadline
beyond which he would rescind a freeze on tariff hikes.
But Trump has since suggested he may extend that ultimatum, with Bloomberg
News reporting he could push it back an additional 60 days.
Trump’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow confirmed that the American
delegation to Beijing would meet with Xi, calling the leader’s presence a
“very good sign”.
“They’re covering all the ground. They’re hard at it,” Kudlow said of the
delegation led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Kudlow added that “the vibe is good,” though there’d been “no decision”
yet on extending the tariff truce.
But multiple reports said there had been little progress on thorny issues
such as US demands that China crack down on forced technology transfers and
reduce subsidies that favour domestic companies.
The Wall Street Journal said China had offered to boost imports of US goods
with promises of major purchases of semiconductors and other items, but that
officials “remained deadlocked on a number of issues”.
Bloomberg News reported that the two sides had “failed to narrow the gap
around structural reforms to China’s economy that the US has requested”.
Both cited anonymous sources.
The US officials left their hotel for Friday’s talks without making
substantive comment.
The United States accuses China of a slew of unfair trading practices,
including systemic theft of US intellectual property, and wants deep reforms
to the system.
Beijing and Washington have already imposed duties on more than $360
billion in two-way trade, weighing on their manufacturing sectors and shaking
global financial markets.
Trump had said this week he was open to extending the deadline to give time
for more negotiations and he says he will meet with Xi to finalise any deal.
In December he postponed plans to sharply hike tariffs on $200 billion of
Chinese imports to allow more time for negotiation.
Expectations for a trade deal have grown as China faces pressure from
slowing economic growth, and as swooning global markets pose a challenge to
Trump and his economic advisors.
Data released Thursday in China showed its trade surplus with the US — a
major source of anger within the Trump administration — narrowed in January
to $27.3 billion, even as its American imports plunged 41 percent for the
month from a year earlier.
The two sides said major progress was made in talks last month in
Washington, but a wide gulf remains.
Beijing has offered to boost its purchases of US goods but is widely
expected to resist calls for major change to its policies.
BSS/AFP/RY/11:58 hrs