Todd Bishop
On the first day after the end of the 7th National Day holiday on the National Day of China, the Chinese official announced on October 8 that Liu He’s trip to the United States. The official website of the Ministry of Commerce of China on October 8th shows:
At the invitation of the US, Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the vice premier of the State Council, and the Chinese leader of the China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, will lead a delegation to visit Washington. From October 10th to 11th, he will be with the US Trade Representative Wright Heze and Finance Minister Munu. Qin held a new round of high-level consultations on China-US trade. The main members of the Chinese delegation include Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission Ning Jizhen, Deputy Director of the Central Finance Office, Vice Minister of Finance Liao Wei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang, Industry Wang Zhijun, deputy director of the Ministry of Information Technology, Han Jun, deputy director of the Central Agricultural Office, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce and deputy representative of international trade negotiations, Wang Shouwen.
This is the thirteenth round of high-level trade consultations between China and the United States. It is also the seventh visit of Liu He to the United States. Compared with the previous six visits to the United States, Chinese officials have announced three unusualities when Liu He visited the United States.
The first is Liu He’s invitation to visit the United States . The visit of Liu He to the United States is at the invitation of the US. This statement is not commonly used.
Previously, Liu He visited the United States from May 9 to 10. The Chinese official said that he was invited by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Liu He’s visit to the United States from January 30 to 31 was also at the invitation of US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and trade negotiator Wright Heze. On March 21, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that “Mr. Liu He will be invited to the United States in early April”, which does not highlight who the inviter is.
Liu He visited the United States from February 27 to March 3, 2018. He visited the United States from May 15 to 19, 2018. The Chinese officials all said that they were invited by the US government.
Liu He visited the United States from February 21 to 22, 2019. The Chinese official said at the time that he was invited by the US.
That is to say, Liu He’s visit to the United States is sometimes invited by the US government, sometimes at the invitation of Wright Heze and Mnuchin, sometimes at the invitation of the US, and sometimes simply invited.
It is worth noting that Liu He’s visits to the US government or the US were very special in February 2018, May 2018, and February 2019. In February 2018, Liu He, as the director of the Central Finance Office, went to the United States, Liu He. In May 2018 and February 2019, the two titles to the United States were special envoys of Xi Jinping, especially in May 2018, when China and the United States reached a trade agreement.
The invitation of Liu Heying at the invitation of the US and not at the general consultation was at the invitation of Wright Heze and Mnuchin, which was enough to explain the significance of the visit.
Second, Liu He’s visit was “leading a delegation to visit Washington” . Liu He’s six visits to the United States, the Chinese official did not point out that Liu He was “an delegation visit” when he announced the news. It is rare to see that the place of visit is Washington. The only time is Liu Heying’s invitation to the US in February 2019. Visiting Washington as a special envoy of Xi Jinping, other Chinese officials all said that Liu He went to the United States to visit or visit the United States. Washington, also known as Washington, is the center of the US political center. This may suggest that Liu He’s mission is not as simple as trade negotiations.
Third, the accompanying staff of Liu He’s visit to the United States has changed .
The official Chinese manuscript said that the Chinese delegation includes Zhong Shan, Yi Gang, Ning Jiwei, Liao Wei, Zheng Zeguang, Wang Zhijun, Han Jun, Wang Shouwen, and the subtext of “Members included” is to point out that there are more than a few members. At the time of the China-US Shanghai negotiations at the end of July, Chinese officials said that Zhongshan, Yi Gang, Ning Jiwei, Liao Wei, Zheng Zeguang, Wang Zhijun, Han Jun, and Wang Shouwen participated in the consultation.
From directly naming these people to the consultations, to the delegation including these people, it can be seen that Liu He’s delegation has a large number of members and a very large scale. This is a very comprehensive negotiation between China and the United States, and it is not routine routine consultation. Both China and the United States have great expectations for the outcome of the talks. At least the sincerity of the negotiations is great.
To pave the way for Liu He’s visit to the United States, about 30 Chinese trade officials led by Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Wei started a two-day vice-ministerial negotiations with the US officials at the US Trade Representative Office in Washington on October 7.
In 2020, the United States will enter the general election season. Public opinion generally believes that China and the United States may reach an agreement by the end of 2019 as a temporary result to maintain China-US relations.
A reporter from the US Fox Financial Channel said on Twitter that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that China is ready to reach an agreement with the United States on the agreed part of the agreement and is preparing a timetable for the next year to resolve the more difficult trade agreement. problem.
US officials have recently publicly published many statements about China-US comprehensive agreements and preliminary agreements. This shows that China and the United States are discussing the agreement, and whether Liu He’s visit can make significant progress has attracted much attention.
