China offered to cut trade surplus with US
Trump adviser says offer to cut $200b came during talks led by Vice Premier Liu He
China offered to reduce its trade surplus with the US by “at least $200 billion [Dh734 billion]” in talks to head off a possible trade war, the director of the White House National Economic Council said.
“The number’s a good number,” Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters at the White House on Friday. “I think just as important, they have to lower their tariff rates, they have to lower their non-tariff barriers. We have to have a verifiable process whereby the technology transfers and the theft of intellectual property stops.”
Earlier on Friday a Chinese foreign ministry official and posts on Chinese state social media accounts disputed reports that Chinese officials had offered a $200 billion reduction in its trade surplus through increased imports of American goods. According to a Trump administration official, the offer came during talks in Washington this week led by China’s Vice Premier Liu He.
In a report by The Wall Street Journal, China has agreed to buy more US goods and services, but resisted demands to cut its trade surplus with the country. China’s Ministry of Commerce didn’t immediately reply to a faxed inquiry.
Kudlow confirmed the trade surplus offer but declined to detail it.
“They’re showing us some substance, and that’s a sign of respect. It’s a constructive approach,” he said.
“China’s come to trade; they are meeting many of our demands,” he said.
In a sign that the Chinese government is seeking a conciliatory stance, on Friday it announced that it would end its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of US sorghum, citing “public interest.”