Like a thread, Chinese and Americans cling to their trade agreement - France 24

Beijing (AFP)

They had not spoken for months, in the midst of the collapse of bilateral relations: Chinese and American negotiators reached an agreement Tuesday to implement their trade agreement, the last common ground between the two powers.

Coronavirus, espionage, Hong Kong, human rights, technological rivalry and automatically closed consulates: the grounds for confrontation have not failed since Beijing and Washington signed a "phase one" agreement on January 15 suspending two years of trade war.

Less than 10 days later the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, followed by the most serious post-war global economic crisis. Commitments made by China to buy more American products may have appeared in jeopardy.

Nothing like it according to the press releases published Tuesday by the two governments (Monday evening US time).

"Both sides see progress and are determined to take the necessary steps to ensure the success of the agreement," said the services of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer after a conference call with the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

The USTR said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also attended the phone meeting.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce reported a "constructive dialogue on strengthening the coordination of macroeconomic policies of the two countries."

"The two sides have come to an agreement to create the conditions and the atmosphere allowing to continue to advance the implementation of the first phase of the Sino-US economic and trade agreement," the Beijing statement said.

- 200 billion -

Under the January deal, China pledged to purchase an additional $ 200 billion over two years in US goods and services.

In return, the Trump administration pledged to postpone any further increase in tariffs on Chinese products.

But the Covid-19 has been there, with a drop in international trade: at the end of June, less than half (46%) of the purchases expected at this stage had been made by Beijing, according to data compiled by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

China, where the Covid-19 first appeared at the end of last year, nonetheless posted an increase of more than 7% in its total exports last month, the highest since the beginning of the year, and a further rise in its trade surplus with Washington, to over $ 32 billion.

In his statement, the US trade representative said the two sides "discussed the steps China has taken to effect structural changes" required under the agreement. These measures are aimed at ensuring greater protection of intellectual property rights, breaking down barriers for American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminating forced transfers of technology.

"The parties also discussed the significant increase in purchases of American products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement," added the Trump administration.

- Promise to farmers -

A few months before the presidential election of November 3, for which he seems in difficulty, Donald Trump and his team have stepped up attacks against the Chinese regime.

But the trade deal was a promise Donald Trump made to American farmers who suffered from the trade war, as Beijing cut back on purchases of products such as soybeans.

Beyond the commercial rivalry, the two countries remain at loggerheads in the field of technology: Washington seeks to force the sale of the TikTok app, which belongs to a Chinese group, and has anathematized Huawei, giant Chinese telecoms company, which he suspects of potential espionage.

The US administration is trying to convince its allies to keep Huawei away from 5G networks, the fifth generation of mobile internet.

For his first overseas tour since the Covid crisis, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins a tour of five European countries on Tuesday, during which he is expected to call on his interlocutors to reject US pressure over Huawei.

Receiving his Hungarian counterpart in China on Monday, he denounced the “unilateral harassment” of the United States and pleaded for the mutual opening of markets.

© 2020 AFP