Todd Bishop
China and the United States will hold a deputy-level meeting this week to pave the way for the 13th round of trade negotiations between China and the United States in October. US senior official Wright Heze said that it is very difficult for China and the United States to reach a comprehensive agreement.
A spokesman for the US Trade Representative Office (USTR) announced on September 16 that the trade dialogue between US and Chinese deputy ministerial officials began in Washington on September 19. The talks will pave the way for higher-level talks in October.
At the same time, Chamber Don Commerce CEO Tom Donohue also said at a press conference on September 16 that lower-level officials from both countries will meet on the 20th.
Donohue also said that US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said that China has made some progress in purchasing US agricultural products and other issues, but reaching a comprehensive agreement is “an extraordinary challenge.”
Donohue said that Wright Heather did not say that the talks might reach a limited provisional agreement, and Wright Heze is still pushing for a “real agreement” to address the protection of intellectual property rights and technology transfer proposed by USTR two years ago. problem.
Stephen Kho, a former adviser to the US Trade Representative Office, said that both China and the US are now feeling pain, so it is possible to sign a temporary agreement, but if they seek a comprehensive agreement, it will be very difficult.
It is reported that China and the United States will hold the 13th round of trade negotiations in Washington in October. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the talks are crucial for China-US agreement to sign. The two countries will hold talks with deputy ministers this week to pave the way for the October negotiations. In recent days, China and the United States have also released many goodwill to each other. The United States has postponed tariffs on China. China has also purchased US agricultural products and exempted some tariffs on US goods.
In addition, after the US hawkish national security adviser John Bolton was kicked out of the White House, China proposed new ideas for negotiations. The Wall Street Journal reported on September 12 that China is seeking to narrow the scope of negotiations with the United States to only deal with trade issues, and to take the more difficult national security issues separately, in order to break the deadlock with the United States. According to people familiar with the plan, Chinese officials hope that such an approach will help the two sides resolve some of the most pressing issues and resolve the current stalemate.
At the same time, US officials are also considering a limited agreement. Bloomberg reported on September 12 that according to five sources, Trump government officials discussed offering a limited trade agreement to China, which would postpone or even withdraw some tariffs for the first time in exchange for China’s intellectual property rights and purchases. Commitment to agricultural products.
Regarding this week’s China-US meeting, the US “Political News” website reported on September 12 that a source said that the two sides will discuss a potential preliminary agreement, including China’s purchase of agricultural products, and the US side to relax exports to Huawei. Restrictions and may further delay the increase of tariffs.
But US President Donald Trump said at the White House on September 12 that he preferred to sign a comprehensive agreement. “If we want to sign an agreement, I am more willing to solve all China problems.” Trump also said that many experts are discussing a temporary agreement, which is to gradually solve the problem, first sign the easy part. “But there is no difficulty, either an agreement or no agreement.”
But Trump also said that he would consider it.
