Trade talks expected to finalize deal
Beijing, Washington make progress on multiple issues, agree on more meetings
China and the United States are expected to come to an agreement soon over trade frictions, analysts said, as the negotiating teams are reported to be discussing the wording of an accord and considering applying the brakes to their tariff standoff.
They made the prediction after Chinese and US officials said there had been concrete progress on multiple issues in the latest round of trade talks in Washington.
During the latest talks, held from Thursday to Sunday in Washington, the seventh round since February of last year, the two sides focused on the text of an agreement, the Chinese delegation said, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.
The negotiators also had made substantial progress on such specific issues as technology transfers, protection of intellectual property rights, nontariff barriers, the service industry, agriculture and exchange rates, the delegation said.
On the basis of the latest progress, the two sides are expected to continue their work into the next stage, in accordance with the instructions of the two countries’ top leaders, according to Xinhua.
State Councilor Wang Yi said Sino-US trade negotiations have once again made concrete progress and provided positive prospects for bilateral relations and the global economy. Wang, also minister of foreign affairs, made the remark at an event on Monday, according to a statement issued by the ministry.
Yao Yang, dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said, “It is encouraging that both sides have begun to work on the text of an agreement, which indicates a speeding up toward sealing a trade deal.”
“The progress also showed that effective economic diplomatic measures can help resolve cumbersome issues and reduce confrontation between two nations,” Yao said.
After tit-for-tat exchanges of hefty import tariffs, President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, agreed in December to halt new tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks. Since then, negotiations have been conducted on a wide array of topics.
Environmental specialist Fu Yuhang complimented achievements made by China’s top legislature related to ecology and the environment last year, but she said the fight against pollution via legal means still needs to be strengthened.
“I’m happy to see that our country adopted a series of environmental laws over the past few years, including those concerning air, water, soil and solid waste pollution prevention,” said Fu, also a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress, from Sichuan province.
It means a legal framework to safeguard ecology and the environment has been basically built, she said.
As a researcher specializing in water quality control, Fu said the environment in her hometown of Zigong, Sichuan, has gradually improved thanks to the country’s intensified efforts in environmental protection. These include the adoption of the Law on Air Pollution Prevention 2015 and the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, which took effect in January last year.
“We don’t need to wear masks in winter as smoggy days have been reduced in recent years,” she said.
But Fu is still worried about some pollution problems, including classification of trash and overuse of plastic bags.
“These problems urgently need to be regulated by laws,” Fu said, adding that she plans to make related suggestions at the annual plenary session of the NPC, which is scheduled to open on March 5.
The deputy said she believes that environmental protection will remain a key topic at this year’s legislative session.
“This year, I’m looking forward to more legally binding measures to regulate the use of plastic bags and reduce disposable goods in hotels, as well as a specialized inspection to see how the Solid Waste Law is adopted,” she said.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee, which was elected in March, has listed such an inspection and a new law on noise pollution control on its five-year work agenda.
Additionally, a thorough review of the environment and ecologyrelated documents, including administrative regulations and relevant rules made by the top court, will be conducted this year to make sure they are consistent with the Constitution and laws.
The top leadership has made pollution control one of the “three tough battles” that China must win to achieve building a well-off society in an all-around way by 2020.
Yue Zhongming, an official with the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission, said the top legislature is doing its part by intensifying legislation and law enforcement inspection in environmental protection.
In 2018, the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law was adopted after a unanimous vote. “Soil relates to people’s food safety, and its protection also contributes to the nation’s ecological quality,” said Zhang Guilong, another official with the commission.
In July, the NPC Standing Committee also had a meeting at which environmental officials came to answer questions on air pollution from NPC deputies and committee members.