US and China resume trade talks

WASHINGTON: Top US and Chinese trade officials returned to the bargaining table Wednesday, working to avoid a sharp escalation in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

At the head of a 30-person delegation from Beijing, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He greeted his counterpart, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, against the backdrop of Washington’s prosecution of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which has outraged Beijing and infused the negotiations with uncertainty.

The two sides have just a month remaining in a 90-day truce declared in December. Should the talks fail, US import duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports are due to more than double on March 2 — something economists say could help knock the wind out of the global economy’s sails.

The world’s two largest economies are battling for nothing less than future dominance in critical high-tech industries, according to Lighthizer, the lead US negotiator.

A little over three years ago, Beijing launched a strategic plan dubbed “Made in China 2025” that aimed to make the nation the global leader in aerospace, robotics, artificial intelligence, new-generation autos and other areas — sectors US officials say now represent the “crown jewels” of American technology and innovation.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he favors a healthy Chinese economy, but not at the expense of American business and know-how.

Specifically, US officials are attacking Chinese trade practices they say are unfair, spotlighting the forced transfer of American technology through requirements that foreign companies form joint ventures with local firms, as well as the alleged theft of American intellectual property through hacking.

To pressure Beijing, the White House has imposed tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports.

Beijing hit back with duties on virtually every product it buys from the United States, about $110 billion in goods annually.

Given the complexity of the issues, a finished agreement is unlikely to emerge from the two days of talks in Washington this week.

But US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday he expected “significant progress,” and noted the governments had time left remaining in their truce.

Trump so far has projected optimism, believing Washington has the upper hand given China’s weakening economy.

Last year, the Asian country recorded its slowest growth in nearly 30 years, making the US trade war an unwelcome development.

But Trump also may appear weakened after agreeing to end a five-week government shutdown without extracting any concessions from opposition Democratic lawmakers in a battle over funding to build a wall on the Mexican border.

“The danger here is that other countries will conclude Trump is a paper tiger,” said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“He blusters and takes very strong public positions, puts himself in situations he cannot win, and then meekly backs down and declares victory,” Alden added.

“It will reinforce that argument that China’s best strategy is to wait and to stonewall and Trump will back down.”