China, US prepare for final push in trade talks, as dates set for Beijing, Washington meetings
- US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week as sides race against the clock to reach an agreement
- But Washington’s demand for an enforcement mechanism remains a stumbling block, analysts say
Trade officials from China and the United States will be going all out to reach a deal when they meet in Beijing next week, but the two sides still have obstacles to overcome, analysts said.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be in the Chinese capital on March 28 and 29, after which Vice-Premier Liu He, the head of China’s negotiating team, will travel to Washington in early April, the Chinese commerce ministry announced on Thursday.
“There is a lot of activity – they do want a deal. Both sides want a deal,” said Christopher McNally, a political economy professor at Chaminade University in Hawaii.
“Lighthizer and Mnuchin would like to get certain things from the Chinese. They know that time is running out … Probably July 1 is becoming a bit of a relatively hard red line, with the biggest issue remaining the enforcement mechanism.”
Resolving the issue of how to monitor Beijing’s efforts to meet Washington’s demands is one of two key issues – along with China’s industrial policy reforms – set to top the agenda when the talks – the first since February – get under way.