US wants to correct ‘imbalances’ in China economic relations, says Trade Representative Katherine Tai
- Parts of the relationship are ‘unhealthy’ and have been ‘damaging’ to the US economy, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai says
- The White House is currently reviewing its stance on Beijing but has yet to make significant changes to Trump-era policies
The trade relationship between the two largest economies in the world has a “significant imbalance” and the Biden administration is committed to levelling it, according to the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
“It’s a relationship in trade that has been marked by significant imbalance – that is in terms of performance, but also in terms of opportunity and openness of our markets to each other,” she said ahead of a virtual meeting of trade ministers from members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
“The United States is committed to doing everything we can to bring balance back to the US-China trade relationship.”
While China said that those talks showed the two sides had restarted normal communications, there has been no public sign of any progress on the bilateral tariffs or of discussions over other economic flashpoints between the nations.
The US administration is reviewing its stance towards China and has not made any major changes to the policies it inherited from former president Donald Trump, and Tai has pledged to build on the January 2020 trade pact, saying on May 5 that she respects the continuity of US policy.
New US trade rep reluctant to ‘yank’ China tariff ‘leverage’
Despite those diplomatic and political tensions, trade and investment flows between the two nations continue to strengthen. China’s exports to the US are still growing, while China is stepping up its purchases of US goods, even though it is not enough to reach the levels promised in the trade deal.
Also on Saturday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao argued that China was continuing to open up its economy despite the challenges of the pandemic, listing a number of areas in which it had reduced controls on foreign investment and trade.