WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said Monday he
would prefer to strike a comprehensive trade bargain with China, in comments
days before top US and Chinese officials are due to resume trade talks in
Washington.
But with little sign the two sides have made progress in bridging the
distance between them, speculation has mounted in recent months they may
reach a deal which addresses only some of Washington’s extensive grievances.
“I think it’s not what we prefer at all. My inclination is to get a big
deal,” Trump told reporters when asked if he could accept a partial
agreement.
“We’ve come this far. We’re doing well. I would much prefer a big deal and
I think that’s what we’re shooting for,” he added.
But he acknowledged that his preferred outcome is not certain.
“Can something happen? I guess. Maybe. Who knows. But I guess it’s
unlikely.”
With eight days to go before the next round of punitive tariffs is due to
hit, Beijing’s top trade envoy Liu He will meet with US Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin beginning Thursday,
Chinese state media reported Tuesday.
The high-level Chinese delegation also includes commerce minister Zhong
Shan, central bank governor Yi Gang and vice minister of industry and
information technology Wang Zhijun.
The vice minister for agriculture Han Jun has also been added to the
negotiating team after China last month announced that it had started buying
US soybean and pork.
But the talks come amid rising tensions between the two countries, after
the US Commerce Department Monday blacklisted 28 Chinese entities that it
says are implicated in rights violations and abuses targeting Uighurs and
other mostly Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.
The move, which bars the named entities from purchasing US products, came
months after Washington banned technology giant Huawei and other Chinese
firms from government contracts over alleged Iran sanctions violations.
– No linkage. Guaranteed. –
Liu has said privately he will make a proposal that makes no commitments
addressing the far-reaching reforms to Chinese industrial policy or subsides
that Washington is seeking, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing an unnamed
source.
Lower-level talks have been underway since last month.
The discussions will focus on areas where Washington has made far-reaching
demands since last year: intellectual property rights, the forced transfer of
proprietary technologies, agriculture and enforcement, the White House
statement said.
The next round of US tariff increases is set to take effect October 15, as
US duty rates on $250 billion in Chinese goods rise to 30 percent.
Trump has claimed China’s weakening economy puts Beijing under pressure to
make a deal.
But he also has said in recent months Chinese officials are dragging their
feet in hopes of continuing negotiations with another administration should
Trump fail to win reelection in 2020.
White House economic aide Larry Kudlow Monday denied that recent economic
data showed the lingering trade war has damaged the US economy, saying the
effect had been “minimum,” a position most economists dispute.
Unemployment in September fell to its lowest level in 50 years but US
manufacturing has fallen into recession, and GDP growth is forecast to slow
considerably.
Trump is now the subject of an impeachment inquiry by congressional
Democrats after pressuring Ukrainian authorities earlier this year to
investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden and son Hunter, whom Trump accuses
of financial wrongdoing.
Trump last week raised the stakes by openly calling on Beijing to do
likewise.
But Kudlow told reporters there was no connection between the trade talks
and Trump’s call for China to investigate the Bidens.
“There’ll be no linkage,” he said. “I guarantee it.”