U.S., China do 6-month checkup on trade deal

WASHINGTON» American and Chinese officials on Monday discussed the status of the trade deal both nations signed in January, a pact that continues to open up some commerce between the world’s largest economies even as the bilateral relationship deteriorates in other areas.

Robert E. Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, spoke with Liu He, the Chinese vice premier, as part of a six-month checkup on the trade agreement both countries spent the last several years negotiating.

The call is significant in part because it comes as President Donald Trump and other administration officials continue to blame China for not doing enough to contain the coronavirus. Trump has said the United States should punish Beijing for not keeping the disease from becoming a pandemic, prompting questions about his commitment to remaining in the trade pact.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that the parties discussed steps China had taken to “ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.”

Both nations discussed China’s recent increase in purchases of American products, as well as future actions needed to enact the agreement, the statement said. “Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement,” it read.

China’s commerce ministry issued a fairly upbeat statement as well. “The two sides had a constructive dialogue on strengthening the coordination of the macroeconomic policies of the two countries and the implementation of the first phase of the China-U.S. economic and trade agreement,” the statement said. “Both sides agreed to create conditions and atmosphere to continue to promote the implementation of the first phase of the China-U.S. economic and trade agreement.”

Since signing the deal, China has taken steps to open its markets to U.S. banks and farmers, but its purchases of U.S. products are far behind its promise to buy an additional $200 billion by the end of next year. Through June, China had purchased only 46% of the products it had promised to buy, or a total of $40.2 billion, according to tracking by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.