U.S.-China Preparatory Trade Talks Underway, as Expert Anticipates Interim Deal Ahead

Sept. 19, 2019 (EIRNS)—A Chinese delegation led by Vice Finance Minister Liao Min is in Washington now, to set the agenda for the high-level talks between Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin scheduled to take place in October. As reported by South China Morning Post today, China’s interest in buying U.S. agricultural products will be supported by a personal visit by a member of China’s negotiating team to Midwestern farm states next week. The senior official from China’s Ministry of Agriculture will visit U.S. farmers in Nebraska and Montana, a source with knowledge of the trip told the SCMP, which did not name the official.

Chen Wenling, chief economist for the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and a researcher affiliated with the Chinese government, said China and the U.S. are expected to reach an interim trade deal next month, with Beijing agreeing to buy more American products and the Trump Administration postponing further tariff increases and easing restrictions on Huawei, according to a report by Forexlive.

On Sept. 17, during a discussion with reporters aboard Air Force One en route from New Mexico to California, President Donald Trump said, “I think there’ll be a deal maybe soon, maybe before the election, or one day after the election. And if it’s after the election, it’ll be a deal like you’ve never seen, it’ll be the greatest deal ever and China knows that. ... If it’s after the election, it’ll be the toughest deal anybody’s ever had to make from the standpoint of China, and they know that. China knows that....” according to the White House Pool release of the exchange.