US And China Hold ‘Constructive’ Trade Talks After The Delay

After the discussion was delayed, the US and China have held talks over their so-called “phase-one” trade deal earlier this month. The US Trade Representative said that both sides saw progress and are committed to the agreement. The Negotiations had been expected to take place on 15 August but were postponed by President Donald Trump. In an election campaign speech, Mr. Trump said: “I don’t want to talk to China right now.” In a statement, the US Trade Representative also pointed out that the two parties had discussed intellectual property rights and other issues that have proved sticking points in negotiations over a phase-two deal.

He also said, “The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.”  10 days ago the US and China abruptly called off scheduled negotiations, which is designed to implement the “phase-one” trade deal. But no official reason was reported for the postponement. And it had been reported that it was to give Beijing more time to live up to its side of the bargain and to make more purchases of American grains and other commodities.

So as now President Trump heads into a week of the Republican National Convention he is striking a deal with China on long-standing issues makes for good headlines, allowing him to say that only the Trump administration can get Beijing to the table. When he wants to show that he is tough on China, the pressure on Chinese companies from Washington has also come at a time. Chinese have a statement by saying that  “two sides agreed to create conditions and atmosphere to continue pushing forward toward the implementation of the trade deal”. And the private companies have said that “whether it is a Trump or Biden administration, one thing’s for sure: the pressure won’t stop. It’s the one thing both sides agree on.”

The announcements came just after the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Monday evening Washington time. From this, it is understandable that the co-operation and relation between the world’s two largest economies have become increasingly strained this year over a wide range of issues including data security, the coronavirus pandemic, and Hong Kong. 

A few months back  Mr. Trump has increased the pressure on Chinese technology firms with executive orders to ban the short video-sharing app TikTok and social media platform WeChat. And now TikTok’s owner ByteDance launched a legal challenge against the US president’s decision, arguing that the move was motivated by politics, not national security. The talks had been expected to take place 10 days ago, but after they delayed, Mr.Trump had canceled the meeting, during an election campaign event in Arizona last Tuesday. So with the latest negotiations, not everything went smoothly and the US had to correct its statement as it misspelled Mr. Liu’s first name as Hu rather than He, something that was quickly picked up by Chinese social media.