In an effort to settle the trade dispute that has dragged on for more than a year, U.S. And Chinese officials once again met in Washington to discuss new terms and conditions that could potentially end the ongoing trade war.
According to U.S. negotiators, they have arrived at a “phase-one deal”, to which the U.S. agreed to a suspension of the tariff increase that was supposed to take effect last October 15, 2019. President Trump agreed to the partial agreement, which he said also included a deal that would have China purchasing around $40 to $50 billion U.S. agricultural products, and of addressing concerns over financial and intellectual property deals.
What the Chinese Side is Saying about the Outcome of the Recent Trade Negotiations
Gao Feng, the official spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said there is no official confirmation of the amount of agricultural purchases to which China has agreed. Although Gao confirmed that as far as agreement to place orders for U.S. agricultural products are concerned, Chinese companies would increase their purchases of U.S. agricultural products in accordance with market-based principles, particularly, the demand of the Chinese market.
Apparently wary of the U.S.’ reputation for backpedaling on previous agreements, the official Chinese state-owned English newspaper came out with an opinion piece entitled “Let’s nail down ‘phase one’first, before advancing to the next,”which suggests anticipation of the Trump administration’s unpredictable tendencies.