Analysis Ignore the White House rhetoric. Here are five ways China is winning Trump’s trade war

It was easy to miss the US-China trade statement that the White House released on Saturday, right in the midst of royal wedding mania.

But it is hard to hide that China looks as if it is winning President Donald Trump’s trade skirmish – so far.

The statement said that after several days of talks, the Chinese agreed to “substantially” reduce the United States’ US$375 billion trade deficit with China and that the details would be worked out later. It was noticeably vague.

Notice China did not agree to a specific amount. On Friday, Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, was telling reporters that the Chinese had agreed to reduce the deficit by “at least” US$200 billion. China quickly denied that, and, a day later, the official statement did not have a concrete number, a seeming victory for the Chinese.

What about the IP fight? The real battle against the Chinese was supposed to be over intellectual property theft, which the Trump administration says has been going on for years and costs the US economy US$225 billion to US$600 billion a year. Trump was supposed to get the Chinese to stop stealing US business secrets and technology. On this front, the statement was brief and lacklustre, saying that both sides agreed to “strengthen cooperation” (diplomatic speak for not doing much) and that China would “advance relevant amendments” to its patent law. It remains to be seen whether that happens (and whether China enforces any new laws).