U.S.-China trade talks end with no deal in sight

The Chinese confirmed their commitment to buy more American agricultural exports.

American and Chinese negotiators finished talks Wednesday with little progress toward ending a trade disagreement that has shaken the world’s economic confidence and rattled markets.

What happened

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer, the Trump administration’s top trade negotiator, were seen leaving trade talks Wednesday, the Chinese state news media said.

Both sides “conducted frank, efficient and constructive in-depth exchanges on major issues of common interest in the economic and trade field,” said a statement late in the day that was released by CCTV, China’s state broadcaster.

The White House press secretary, in a statement released Wednesday morning, called the talks “constructive.”

The White House statement said that the two sides discussed topics including “forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights, services, nontariff barriers and agriculture” and that the Chinese side had confirmed their commitment to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural exports.

Why it matters

The meeting marked the first formal resumption of talks after negotiations fell apart almost three months ago, with each side pointing fingers at the other for derailing a deal. They agreed to try again after meeting in June on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

Instead, both sides appear to be settling in for a lengthy economic conflict.

Senior Chinese officials who gathered at an economic meeting Tuesday run by China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, stressed that the country had to rely on domestic demand to manage “new risks and challenges” and ward off what they described as “downward pressure on the economy,” according to the Chinese state news media. China could turn “a crisis into an opportunity,” the report added.

A lengthy trade war presents China’s leaders with some difficult options. China is enduring an economic slowdown that has been made worse by the trade tensions.

Beijing has responded by ratcheting up spending on infrastructure and other big-ticket projects, a reliable growth strategy that nevertheless could worsen the country’s debt problems and do little to solve economic imbalances that could hinder its longterm prospects.

Should China reach a quick deal, on the other hand, the country’s leaders risk looking weak in the face of foreign powers, undermining the Communist Party’s historical claim to rule.

What’s next

Negotiations are expected to continue in Washington in early September, according to the White House statement.

A lengthy trade war presents China’s leaders with some difficult options. China is enduring an economic slowdown that has been made worse by the trade tensions.