Rising jobless rate pushes change in attitude
Rising jobless rate pushes change in attitude
US chief trade negotiators invited China’s Vice Premier Liu He to speak on Friday, and also vowed to “create conditions” for a trade deal. The US’ sharp shift in attitude toward China indicates some in the US have realized they need China to save their “risky economy,” while also revealing the US’ inability to supply relevant products to China due to failures in COVID-19 management, experts close to the trade talks said.
Liu was invited to talk with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by phone on Friday. The two vowed to create favorable conditions for the implementation of the phase one trade deal, while cooperating on the economy and public health, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
The planned phone call was the first conversation about the agreement between the two countries’ chief negotiators since it was signed in January.
It came after US President Donald Trump threatened to “terminate” the trade deal if China fails in its promise to purchase specific goods and services from the US.
The US has been wracking its brains seeking ways to redirect its own mismanagement of the coronavirus toward China. The contrast in attitude indicates a worse-thanexpected domestic economic situation has caused some in the country to realize that only cooperation with China can save the US economy from the brink of disaster, Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics said on Friday.
Unemployment continues to rise in the US, as US jobless rate rose to 14.7 percent in April, from just 4.4 percent in March, the highest rate since the Depression.
On the other side, the Chinese economy has been showing a steady recovery over recent months. Thursday’s customs data showed
China’s yuan-denominated exports increased 8.2 percent year-on-year to 1.41 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in April, beating market expectations of double-digit negative growth.
“[The US] now hopes China’s expanding imports can alleviate its domestic situation,” Sang said.
However, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who advises the government on trade issues, said the US may now face another problem: it is unable to provide the quantity of products China now needs as the virus has undercut its production ability.
“So it’s now on the US to determine whether or not the two can smoothly carry out the deal,” Gao said, noting that improving bilateral ties between the world’s two largest economies will be the fastest way to rescue the global economy from the pandemic blow.
“But US will not relinquish its China card and will continue in its capricious attitude in the future,” Sang said.