China has offered a plan to buy up to $1 trillion of additional imports from the U.S. over the next six years, Bloomberg News reported Friday.
The offer came from Chinese officials engaged in trade negotiations in Beijing, according to Bloomberg.
The aim of the increased purchases would be to reduce China’s trade surplus with the U.S., which hit a record $323 billion last year, to zero by 2024.
The offer demonstrates how much control China’s government exercises over its economy. Its trade surplus is a product of the country’s predatory mercantilism.
U.S. negotiators are skeptical of the offer and its timeline. They demanded that China make progress in the next two years, according to Bloomberg. That would mean the trade deficit would drop during the Trump administration’s first term.
Despite China’s offer to buy more U.S. goods, U.S. and China are not close to reaching an agreement. No progress has been made on structural issues, such as China’s subsidies for its technology and manufacturing companies, forced technology transfers, and requirements that U.S. companies operating in China partner with Chinese companies.
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