US-China reach trade talk ‘stalemate’ despite expiry of phase-one deal as Beijing, Washington remain silent
- Talks between Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have yet to happen
- China’s two-year commitment to buy an additional US$200 billion of American goods and services expired last week, with indications are that it has fallen around 40 per cent short
China and the United States have reached a “stalemate” in the process to resume trade talks despite the expiry of their phase-one trade deal last week, with no clear indication from either Beijing or Washington of when the silence will be broken.
“Now [China and the US] are in a stalemate, since everyone is clear that the atmosphere for negotiations has not formed yet,” said Huo Jianguo, the former head of a think tank under China’s Ministry of Commerce.
“If [China] is more proactive, there might be some changes, since the negotiations are actually more beneficial to us.”
The talks also may have been delayed due to technical reasons as the US is adjusting its tariff codes, a trade source with knowledge of the matter who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation told the Post.