Washington (AFP)
Leading Chinese and US trade negotiators met on Friday - all smiles, pat on the backs and handshakes for cameras - for a second day of talks before a meeting between Donald Trump and Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, giving hope for progress on this issue that is poisoning global growth.
The meeting between the US president and the head of the Chinese delegation is scheduled for the afternoon (18:45 GMT) at the White House. For now, it must happen only behind closed doors. But Mr. Trump has not hesitated in the past to call the press to make himself state of progress.
The US president repeated it last week, only two people count on this issue, where rumors abound and information is lacking on the state of negotiations: he and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Robert Lighthizer, the US Trade Representative (USTR) and Chief Negotiator, Liu He, Chinese Vice Premier, and Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, appeared Friday morning on the front porch of the USTR building.
Nothing has filtered for the time of the discussions of the day before.
Thursday, the head of international affairs of the American Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant, fueled the rumor of a partial agreement, saying "convinced" that there would be an agreement on foreign exchange and a suspension of the increase in tariffs scheduled for 15 October.
These negotiations are taking place while tariffs must pass Tuesday from 25 to 30% on 250 billion Chinese goods.
For the moment, Beijing has accepted some concessions, such as the purchase of US agricultural products, fueling the speculations of a partial agreement.
But so far, Donald Trump has insisted he wants "a big deal" and "a good deal" if nothing else.
But the subjects of litigation are numerous: Washington requires not only a greater opening of the Chinese market but also the end of commercial practices considered "unfair", such as forced technology transfer or subsidies to Chinese companies.
© 2019 AFP