Is Donald Trump’s trade war making China change?
- 40 per cent of European companies say China has improved market access
- US companies say China’s efforts on intellectual property protection have not gone far enough
Deep differences separate Chinese and US negotiators on everything from market access to industrial subsidies as the two sides prepare to meet next month in Washington.
As their trade talks unravelled in acrimony in May, the US blamed China for walking back alleged commitments on issues including forced technology transfers. China responded in a White Paper, accusing the US of unreasonable demands and argued that it had made “remarkable progress” in improving its business environment.
So just how much has China done since the two began locking horns last year over trade and technology? China analysts say the pace of market-driven change has quickened a tad as a result of Donald Trump’s trade war.
“There’s more of a trajectory today than we’ve probably seen since the 3rd plenum of the 18th party congress’’ in November 2013, according to Jacob Parker, senior vice-president at the US-China Business Council in Washington.
China’s leaders at that time laid out plans for the biggest expansion of economic freedoms since at least the 1990s, only for subsequent implementation to underwhelm. In a January 2017 speech at Davos, President Xi Jinping again raised expectations of a new era of reform.