US, China cautiously resume talks aimed at ending trade war
BEIJING — U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators held a video call on Saturday, in a resumption of talks to address their differences following an escalating trade war that began in 2018.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke with China’s vice premier Liu He, following a lengthy interlude.
The trade war started in June 2018, when former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on imports from China worth $50 billion in a bid to reduce the soaring trade deficit between the two countries. Trump repeatedly accused Beijing of unfair trading practices.
The conflict then escalated over the following year when Trump imposed a further $500 billion worth of punitive tariffs on almost all imports from China, which led to retaliation from Beijing.
On Saturday, the negotiators raised their main concerns and agreed to manage them through mutual consultation, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
They also discussed implementing an agreement covering the first phase of a plan aimed at resolving the trade war, while also agreeing to continue their dialogue, Xinhua said.
The talks come after Tai presented the Biden administration’s new strategy on trade with China on Monday. The strategy appeared set to continue the hard line towards Beijing adopted by the previous administration. Punitive tariffs are set to remain in place for now, but with some exclusions deemed beneficial to the US economy.
In Washington’s view, China is not yet sufficiently fulfilling an agreement from early 2020, when both sides made a commitment to prevent new or higher punitive levies. Washington has continued to push for the agreement to be implemented by Beijing.
China has pledged to buy $200 billion worth of goods from the U.S. by the end of 2021, as well as to spend $50 billion on oil and gas, $80 billion on industrial goods and $32 billion on agricultural products.