China-US trade talks hit dead end but ‘there’s still room to move’
No sign of dialogue between the two economic powerhouses as Beijing chafes at Washington’s expectations of compromise
China and the United States have hit a dead end in trade talks, with dialogue between the world’s two biggest economies cut since Washington ramped up threats.
Former Chinese officials and observers said the suspension of talks – revealed by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce late on Friday – reflected China’s frustration with its “difficult” negotiating position and its desire for Washington to scale down its expectations of compromise from Beijing.
Some observers also said that if Washington did go ahead with threatened tariffs on an additional US$100 billion in Chinese goods, Beijing might go one step further and target US companies in China.
US officials had said that both sides were trying to resolve the dispute but Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng rejected suggestions that there were any talks, adding that such discussions had not taken place “for a period of time”.
He ruled out the possibility of “any kind of negotiations under current circumstances”, taking a tougher line than Beijing’s earlier position that it was always willing to engage in talks to resolve the issue.