Looking for progress
American officials due in Beijing for talks on trade battle
American officials are due in Beijing Monday for talks aimed at easing the U.S.-China trade battle that threatens to hobble global economic growth.
The talks are going ahead despite tension over the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in Canada on U.S. charges related to possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran.
The two governments have expressed interest in a settlement but have given no indication that their stances have shifted. After several tit-for-tat tariff increases last year, Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed Dec. 1 to postpone further hikes. The two countries hope to have “positive and constructive discussions,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang.
The trade war has its roots in American anxiety about China’s emergence as a competitor in telecoms, solar power and other technologies and complaints by Washington, Europe and other trading partners that Beijing’s tactics violate its market-opening obligations.
China’s leaders have offered to narrow its politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more soybeans, natural gas and other American exports. But they reject pressure to scrap technology initiatives they see as a path to prosperity and global influence. Both governments face economic pressure to reach a settlement.
Chinese economic growth fell to a post-global crisis of 6.5 per cent in the quarter ending in September. Auto sales tumbled 16 per cent in November over a year earlier and weak real estate sales are forcing developers to cut prices. Third-quarter U.S. growth was 3.4 per cent and unemployment is at a five-decade low. But surveys show consumer confidence is weakening due to concern that growth will moderate this year.
Beijing has tried in vain to recruit France, Germany, South Korea and other governments as allies against Trump. They criticize his tactics but echo U.S. complaints about Chinese industrial policy and market barriers. The European Union filed its own challenge in the World Trade Organization in June against Chinese regulations it said hamper the ability of foreign companies to protect and profit from their own technology. Washington has imposed punitive tariffs of up to 25 per cent on $250 billion of Chinese goods. Beijing responded by imposing penalties on $110 billion of American goods, slowing down customs clearance for U.S. companies and suspending issuance of licenses in finance and other industries.