US taking harder line with China in trade talks, American chamber chairman says
Washington aims to press China to make changes for ‘fair trade relations based on reciprocity’, William Zarit told the Post
Washington is taking a tougher approach with Beijing in trade talks aimed at pressing China to open its market further, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China said.
William Zarit told the South China Morning Post in a Beijing interview this week that “the US market is quite open for China exports and investment, but that is not so much the case in China”. Washington seeks ways to press China to make changes for “more fair trade relations based on reciprocity”, he said.
Zarit’s comments came as tension between the world’s two biggest economies escalated after US President Donald Trump lashed out at China over its lack of cooperation in narrowing its huge trade surplus with the US and in curbing North Korea’s nuclear power and missile ambition.
Trump also pressured China to reduce its steel overcapacity and is likely to look into the country’s trade practices ahead of possibly imposing punitive trade sanctions against the Asian giant.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a China hawk and a veteran in addressing trade disputes, may lead the assessment on China’s trade policy to see whether its practices are unfair or harmful to the US.