Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials made progress in Beijing this week, but the White House says there’s much more work to do as talks continue next week in D.C. and a tariff truce deadline looms.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin led a U.S. delegation to Beijing this week for the third set of in-person negotiations during a 90-day tariff truce between the two nations. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng led the Chinese delegation. Delegations from each side met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders:
During the talks, the United States delegation focused on structural issues, including forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights, cyber theft, agriculture, services, non-tariff barriers, and currency. The two sides also discussed China’s purchases of United States goods and services intended to reduce the United States’ large and persistent bilateral trade deficit with China.
Sanders described this round of talks as “detailed and intensive discussions” which led to progress. “Much work remains, however. Both sides will continue working on all outstanding issues in advance of the March 1, 2019, deadline for an increase in the ten percent tariff on certain imported Chinese goods,” said Sanders.
President Donald Trump and President Xi agreed at a December 1 meeting at the G20 in Argentina to a 90-day period of intensive trade negotiations and a tariff truce in pursuit of an agreement between the two nations. In addition to ongoing talks, officials from each side have met once in Beijing and once in Washington, DC, during this 90-day period that ends March 1. “United States and Chinese officials have agreed that any commitments will be stated in a Memoranda of Understanding between the two countries.”
President Trump has previously pointed to economic troubles in China and years of the nation extracting hundreds of billions from the U.S. to build up China. Reports have suggested China faces trouble in it’s financial industry that has been intermittently propped up through its government’s intervention.
The U.S. previously levied tariffs on Chinese goods that were met with retaliatory Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods. President Trump delayed plans for increased tariffs as part of the December agreement with Xi. At that meeting Xi agreed to resume an increased level of Chinese purchases of U.S. commodities such as soybeans that had been hit by China’s retaliatory tariffs.
Lighthizer and Mnuchin held meetings on Thursday and Friday, but a U.S. advance trade team were in Beijing for meetings all week,starting Monday.
Trade talks will continue back in Washington, DC, next week. Ministerial and vice-ministerial level officials are hoping for additional progress.
Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook