Todd Bishop
The leader of the China-US trade negotiations held the second call after the Osaka Special Conference on July 18. The US Trade Representative Office announced the news on July 18th. The Ministry of Commerce of China did not publish relevant call information on the official website until 17:00 on July 19th, Beijing time.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also responded to this at a press conference on the afternoon of July 19th, Beijing time. The official Chinese media “People’s Daily” reported on July 21 that “the Chinese companies are engaged in new US agricultural products procurement.”
After the call, Beijing announced the latest developments in purchasing US agricultural products, suggesting that the call between China and the United States has progressed relatively smoothly.
First of all, it is not only Zhongshan that joins the call. Earlier on July 9, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He talked with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. At the end of the Chinese manuscript, there was a sentence, “Ministry of Commerce Minister Zhong Shan attended the call.” On the July 18th call, at the end of the Beijing draft, there was a sentence from the Minister of Commerce, Zhong Shan, etc. to participate in the call. The word “etc.” implies that more than Zhongshan is involved in the call.
From the fact that the Chinese official did not mention the specific names, these officials may not have reached the level of the draft, or may be the lower-level specific business department officials. More and more officials responsible for specific affairs have joined the call, which means that the current negotiations between China and the United States have entered a very specific stage of practical implementation.
Secondly, from the point of view of the call, the Beijing press said that “the exchange of opinions on the implementation of the consensus between the two heads of state in Osaka and the next consultation”, and after the last call on July 9, Beijing said, “I will implement the two heads of state. Osaka meeting consensus exchanges.” Compared with the last time, the current call content has increased the “next negotiation”.
Beijing mentioned “the next step of consultation”, which shows that the communication between China and the United States is quite effective, and it has not fallen into an unsustainable dead end.
Thirdly, the People’s Daily mentioned four key words in the report on July 21, namely, “related parties”, “related Chinese enterprises”, “related departments” and “related commitments”. The information disclosed to the media is “related parties”. The information released is about the new US agricultural products procurement by Chinese companies. “Apply to exclude the tariffs imposed on the imported agricultural products from the US.” “Recently, the US side It announced that it would levy tariffs on 110 Chinese industrial products exempted from the United States, and expressed its willingness to promote US companies to continue to supply related Chinese companies.
The final report specifically mentioned, “In order to meet the needs of Chinese consumers, the relevant Chinese companies intend to continue to import some agricultural products that meet the needs of the domestic market from the US. The relevant Chinese departments expressed the hope that the US and the Chinese side will follow each other and implement the relevant US commitments.” . In other words, after the Chinese companies release goodwill, the relevant departments hope that the US will implement the relevant commitments.
After the US announced that it would levy tariffs on 110 Chinese industrial products exempted from the United States and expressed its willingness to promote US companies to continue to supply related Chinese companies, China reported through media reports that it would release the goodwill of purchasing American agricultural products. This kind of operation has five levels of meaning.
First, it shows that Beijing is acting on the basis of the release of goodwill in the United States. It is not Beijing’s compromise under the economic downturn.
Second, it shows that the actions of Chinese companies do not have an official nature and are uncertain, further ignoring the Chinese official control of enterprises.
Third, it reveals that the trade between China and the United States, in addition to the relevant commitments for agricultural products exchange, and the US exemption tariffs on Chinese products in exchange for China’s exemption from tariffs on the purchase of US agricultural products.
Fourth, “new US agricultural products procurement” implies that Beijing will not immediately resume the purchase of US agricultural products that have not been carried out in the past, and will not consider the existing purchase of US agricultural products as a new commitment to the United States. “New US Agricultural Products Purchasing” represents Beijing’s goodwill. After the implementation of the relevant US commitments, Beijing will also have further relaxation of the tariffs on US agricultural products that have been imposed before, and China’s purchase of US agricultural products will be fully restored.
Fifth, Beijing did not mention what the relevant commitments of the United States are, but it obviously refers to the United States lifting the ban on Huawei.
This is in connection with the above-mentioned talks that not only Zhongshan joined the leaders of the trade negotiations, but also the “next consultation” between China and the United States. The core message released by Beijing is the current telephone communication to promote the implementation of the specific transaction reached by the Osaka Special Olympics. The promotion is in good condition.
The trade between China and the United States is not just a simple matter for Huawei to trade agricultural products. As far as the procurement of agricultural products is concerned, the requirements of the United States are not only procurement, but also the tariffs on agricultural products exempted. China is demanding not only the lifting of the ban on Huawei, but also the exemption of Chinese product tariffs.
The United States has announced that it will waive some of China’s product tariffs and act positively on lifting the ban on Huawei. This is the goodwill that the United States took the lead in releasing. The Chinese media reported that Chinese companies are asking for US agricultural products, which is a very low-profile goodwill signal. The extent of China-US action has determined that Beijing has taken the initiative in this round of negotiations.
