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China outlines three disagreements in US trade talks
BEIJING, May 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China’s top trade negotiator said more
talks will be held with the United States as he revealed what Beijing
considers the three main differences keeping the two sides from reaching a
deal.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, Vice Premier Liu He for the
first time gave details on where the negotiations stood following two days of
talks with US counterparts, with tariffs and how much China should import
from America among the disagreements.
“Negotiations have not broken down, but rather on the contrary, this is
only a normal twist in the negotiations between the two countries, it is
inevitable,” Liu said.
“Both sides agree they will meet again in Beijing in the future and keep
pushing forward the negotiations,” he said without giving a date.
Since last year the United States and China have exchanged tariffs on more
than $360 billion in two-way trade, gutting US agricultural exports to China
and weighing on both countries’ manufacturing sectors.
Liu said the two days of talks in the US were “productive”.
“We have a consensus in lots of areas but to speak frankly there are areas
we have differences on, and we believe these concern big principles,” he
said.
First, the Chinese side believes all punitive tariffs must be cancelled if
an agreement is reached, he said, indicating that it remained under
discussion.
Second, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump agreed
to a preliminary figure for purchases of US goods when they declared a trade
truce in Argentina last year, he said.
“In the end, what is the figure? Now both sides have different views, we
think this is a very serious thing that cannot be changed easily,” he said.
Third, the text of the agreement must be “balanced” between the two sides,
he said, because “any country needs its own dignity.”
“We believe these are all big matters of principle, every country has
important principles, and we will not make concessions on matters of
principle.”
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President Donald Trump, meanwhile, raised tariffs on $200 billion in
Chinese goods and ordered officials to launch the process to impose custom
duties on another $300 billion worth of imports — almost everything China
ships to the US. \
-‘Backtracking’-
The negotiations took a downward turn after Trump accused China of
reneging on its commitments.
“We believe before we reach a deal, any changes are natural, and
inevitable in the whole process,” Liu said.
“We don’t believe China has backtracked”, he said, adding there were just
differences on how to phrase the text of the agreement.
Asked about the tariffs that hit $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on
Friday, Liu said: “if the the US slaps on tariffs, we must respond.”
Noting China would exercise restraint, he added, “(we) don’t want
unlimited escalation”.
Liu compared the negotiations to a marathon: “When you get to the last
stage it is comparatively the hardest stage, now we need to hold on, it is
the darkness before dawn.”
– China’s economy –
Last year the escalating trade tensions with the US pummelled confidence
and sent Chinese stock markets sliding about 30 percent.
Liu, China’s top economic official, said the country’s economy was
improving after bottoming out at the end of last year.
“The most crucial issues are confidence and expectations,” he said, “as
long as we in our hearts have confidence, we will not be afraid of any
difficulties.”
“Although there will be some pressure, I believe China’s economy will
continue to develop smoothly, healthily, in a good state,” he said.
China’s monetary and fiscal policy has “ample room” to manoeuvre, Liu
said.
“We need to rationally approach this, China is not afraid, and the Chinese
nation is not afraid,” he said.
BSS/AFP/HR/1100