Don’t stress the China trade deficit for now. Focus on getting a level playing field, say US business leaders
American Chamber of Commerce says Donald Trump’s drive to tackle the trade gap is not the most pressing concern for companies in China
American business leaders in China have urged policymakers in Washington and Beijing to focus on issues such as fairness and reciprocal treatment rather than putting too much emphasis on cutting the trade deficit in their next round of talks.
Foreign governments and companies operating in China have long complained about problems such as forced technology transfer, state support for domestic companies, rules that restrict their operations and weak protections for intellectual property.
US President Donald Trump has frequently highlighted his desire to cut the trade deficit with China, but some members of his trade team and the US business community are more concerned about issues such as China’s state-sponsored plans to make the domestic hi-tech sector a world leader while freezing out foreign companies.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will lead a delegation to Beijing on June 2-4 to continue negotiations as the two sides try to avert a trade war.
China has previously agreed to cut its trade surplus with the US by buying more American agriculture and energy products but the details of this have yet to be clarified.
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William Zarit, the chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce in China, said it would be a disappointment if the latest round of talks continued to focus on the trade deficit or prioritised the needs of certain sectors “without getting to the essence of the difference in our systems”.