In an effort to end the ongoing US-China trade war, the Trump administration said the president wants to meet China’s Xi Jinping, a sign of optimism as negotiators begin the latest round of talks this week, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
“He wants to meet with President Xi very soon. This president wants a deal. He wants it to be fair to Americans and American workers and American interests.” – White House counselor Kellyanne Conway
While there has been uncertainty whether the two leaders would meet to finalize an agreement as the March 1 deadline approaches, Trump has remained adamant he will more than double the rate of tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports, the report said.
In the Beijing meetings, U.S. officials are expected to press Chinese officials to commit to deeper reforms to a state-driven economic model they say hurts American companies, Bloomberg reported.
On Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to meet, the report said.
Trump aides are labeling this week’s talks as important because they need to demonstrate credible progress to both the president and financial markets, Bloomberg reported. But the two sides are only in the preliminary stages of drafting a common document and still feuding over how a deal may be enforced, which U.S. officials have repeatedly called a crucial element.
Because of this, some aides privately acknowledge the most likely scenario is for the March 1 deadline to be extended and for tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese imports not to be raised to 25 percent as Trump as threatened, the news outlet reported.
"I think there will be positive outcomes from this round of trade talks, because the two sides have shown willingness to seek a deal," said Wei Jianguo, a former vice commerce minister and now vice director of China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing.
"Even if no deal is reached in this round of talks, I don’t think tariffs will be hiked on March 1,” he told Bloomberg. “The highest possibility is that the U.S. will agree to postpone the deadline, buying time for the two leaders to meet and sign off on the final deal."
– WN.com, Jack Durschlag
Photo:
AP / Evan Vucci
