The United States and China resume talks Tuesday

CrisisInvesting

y Joe McDonald and Paul Wiseman | AP February 19 at 10:08 AM
WASHINGTON — The United States and China resume talks Tuesday aimed at ending a fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions ahead of a deadline for a massive U.S. tariff hike.

The White House said that meetings between mid-level delegations will begin in Washington following talks last week in Beijing that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said “made headway” on key issues.

On Thursday, Lighthizer will lead higher level talks, joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Leading the Chinese team will be Vice Premier Liu He, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Business groups and economists saw Friday’s surprise announcement of further talks this week as a sign that the two counties were making progress.


Both governments have expressed optimism, but they have given no details of their talks. Economists say the time available for negotiations is too brief to resolve an array of irritants in U.S.-Chinese relations. They say Beijing’s goal is to persuade President Donald Trump they are making enough progress to push back threatened U.S. penalties.

Beijing hopes for “a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement that is acceptable to both sides,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang.

Without an agreement, a 10 percent tariff increase imposed on $200 billion of Chinese goods is due to rise to 25 percent on March 2.

Last Friday, Lighthizer told the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, the two sides “made headway on very, very important and difficult issues.”

Trump imposed the penalties over complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. The talks also include complaints about Beijing’s plans for government-led technology development, cyberspying and China’s trade surplus.


Beijing retaliated with higher duties on U.S. goods and told its importers to find other suppliers. That led to a 40 percent drop in Chinese imports of American goods in January.

Washington, Europe, Japan and other trading partners complain plans such as “Made in China 2025,” which calls for government -led creation of global competitors in robotics and other technologies, violate Beijing’s market-opening obligations.

China’s leaders have offered to narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more natural gas, soybeans and other exports. But they are resisting pressure to scale back industry plans they see as a path to prosperity and global influence.

Other stumbling blocks include Chinese resistance to U.S. pressure to accept an enforcement mechanism with penalties to ensure Beijing carries out whatever commitments it makes.

Trump said last week he might be willing to push back the March 2 date if the talks go well but Washington has yet to say whether the negotiations are making enough progress.

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McDonald reported from Beijing

CrisisInvesting

stock market could go up by the end of this week.

CrisisInvesting

CrisisInvesting 发表于 2019-2-19 12:54 PM
stock market could go up by the end of this week.

　新华社报导，应美方邀请，国务院副总理、中美全面经济对话中方牵头人刘鹤将访问华府，于2月21日至22日与美国贸易代表赖海哲、财政部长米努勤举行第七轮中美经贸高级别磋商。
　　白宫透过声明指出，美中贸易高级别磋商将于21日开始，美方由赖海哲（Robert Lighthizer）领衔，成员包括米努勤（Steven Mnuchin）、商务部长罗斯（Wilbur Ross）、总统经济顾问库德洛（Larry Kudlow）、总统贸易顾问纳瓦罗（Peter Navarro）；高级别磋商之前，将由副贸易代表吉里希（Jeffrey Gerrish）领军，19日起举行副部级磋商。
　　白宫指出，会议将在美国贸易代表署（USTR）及艾森豪行政大楼举行。
　　川普18日在佛州一场活动介绍赖海哲时提到，"赖海哲刚从一个叫做中国的地方回来，而我们取得许多进展，没人预期这会发生，我们取得许多进展。"
　　彭博报导，农业部副部长森斯基（Steve Censky）18日在伊利诺伊州参与一场会议时说，美中上周举行的贸易磋商富有成效，且随着时间接近3月1日，谈判的节奏正在加快。
　　森斯基表示，关于农业方面，双方能够取得一些进展，缩小部分分歧，但还有很长的路要走；他说，在农业方面的谈判目标不仅是获得一些非常大量的采购承诺，而是希望中方能够真正实现长期必要的基本结构改革。