Why US-China trade talks are failing to take off despite pressure from American business
- Trade is on the back-burner as the two sides cross swords over security, the hi-tech sector and ideology
- The real complication, however, is the lack of political motivation to push for substantial dialogue and China’s loss of hope in the US, say observers
The US business community has piled pressured on the White House to restart trade talks and adjust tariffs with China, but a lack of political motivation dims prospects for meaningful engagement between Beijing and Washington, observers say.
As part of the campaign, business groups have urged US economic chiefs to resume the process of tariff exemptions which expired at the end of last year, arguing that the punitive tariffs imposed on China in the trade war initiated by former US president Donald Trump are hurting US jobs.
In addition, more than 3,700 US companies have filed lawsuits since last year at the US Court of International Trade, asking to end and refund import tariffs on Chinese goods, according to US media reports in May.
But trade has dropped down the priority list in both Beijing and Washington, with relations centred on confrontations over security, the hi-tech sector and ideology.