U.S., China to hold rare trade talks

The two sides remain committed to carrying out the hard-fought agreement amid a tumultuous period in bilateral ties

BEIJING, China (Global Times) — When Chinese and US trade officials hold talks over the phase one trade agreement next week as reported, they will likely highlight the progress and emerging challenges in implementing the first major deal between the two countries since US President Donald Trump came to office, Chinese experts said on Wednesday.

The two sides remain committed to carrying out the hard-fought agreement amid a tumultuous period in bilateral ties; on the other side, however, the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by the Trump administration against China on a range of issues from the forced closure of its Houston consulate, to Hong Kong affairs, to the crackdown of Chinese tech firms, have posed serious hurdles to the agreement’s implementation, experts noted.

High-level meeting.

Under such a delicate situation, China will likely use this rare platform to reiterate its long-standing stance that the US must stop the aggressive rhetoric and behavior toward China, to create a better environment for the phase one deal and broader China-US cooperation, experts said. They added that the US must cherish what they call the only area where the two sides still have room for cooperation, and avoid all-out confrontation.

Several US media reported on Wednesday that senior Chinese and US trade officials had agreed to hold a high-level meeting on 15 August to review the implementation of the phase one trade agreement, which was signed in mid-January and took effect on 15 February. The meeting via video link will be attended by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

No official announcement has been made by Beijing and Washington on the reported meeting. But Chinese experts who closely follow the talks said that the meeting will most likely take place, given that the agreement calls for such a review every six months.

WANG YING/XINHUA US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, shake hands after signing the China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement during a ceremony at the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, early this year.