ZCZC
BCN-03
CHINA-POLITICS-TRADE-US
China says ‘still lots left to do’ in US trade talks
BEIJING, March 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US-China trade talks have been “very
difficult and taxing” and negotiators still have “lots left to do”, but
breakthroughs have been made in some areas, China’s commerce minister said
Tuesday.
The comments as President Donald Trump has voiced confidence that he could
soon sign a deal with President Xi Jinping to end a trade war that led to
bruising tit-for-tat tariffs on goods from each country.
Recounting top economic official Liu He’s recent trip to Washington for
trade talks, commerce minister Zhong Shan said the “negotiation process was
very difficult and taxing”.
The content under discussion was very hard, Zhong stressed, “requiring our
team to work overtime, day and night”.
“Two days of negotiations had been agreed to, and then two days were
added, and this was still very tense,” Zhong told reporters on the sidelines
of the opening session of the National People’s Congress.
“The bilateral talks have been highly effective — through 90 days of
talks the two sides have achieved step by step, important results and
breakthroughs in some areas,” he said.
“Right now both teams are still negotiating because there is still lots
left to do,” Zhong said.
To reach an agreement “both sides need to walk towards each other and work
hard together”, he said.
The head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission said substantial
breakthroughs had been reached in six areas, including technology transfer,
intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, agricultural, services
and exchange rates, according to local news site The Paper.
“This progress is substantial. I think it will be further expanded. There
is no doubt about it,” banking regulator Guo Shuqing said, according to The
Paper.
Trump has for years railed against China’s unfair trade practices,
singling his ire on what he calls deliberate devaluation of its currency, the
renminbi, also called the yuan.
“Some officials of the US government, including President Trump, accuse
China of manipulating the exchange rate and promoting the devaluation of the
renminbi to gain a competitive advantage,” said Guo.
“There is no such thing, and everyone knows this,” Guo said, adding it
would be easier to reach a consensus on the exchange rate in future
negotiations.
“It is certain that in the opening of the financial sector, China and the
US are fully capable of reaching an agreement,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MR/1100 hrs