President Xi’s economic confidant singles out ‘trade balance, market entry and investor protection’
Liu He knows what he can offer Washington to end the trade war. It is just a question of whether China’s Vice-Premier can pull it off when talks resume with the United States next month.President Xi Jinping’s economic confidant outlined Beijing’s priorities during a conversation with Evan Greenberg, the president of the US-China Business Council, an influential lobby group, on Thursday.The state-run official news agency Xinhua reported that the “trade balance, market entry and investor protection” would be part of a relatively narrow agenda. It is open to debate if that will placate Washington.Reducing America’s soaring trade deficit with China has been a crucial goal of the White House. But so far, it has not led to a reduction in the imbalance. Last year, the US trade deficit with China was $419.52 billion.Still, there are other issues “on the table.”Last week, Larry Kudlow, the White House economic adviser, told a media briefing that the discussions would cover a vast range of problem areas and could take up to “18 months” to resolve.
‘Global importance’
“A deal of this size and scope and central global importance, I don’t think 18 months is a very long time.“The stakes are so high, we have to get it right, and if that takes a decade, so be it,” he said, drawing parallels to the Cold War with the old Soviet Union.“Everything will be on the table,” Kudlow added. “You can rest assured, for example, the absolute key structural issues – the IP [intellectial property] theft, the forced transfer of technology, the cyberspace, the clouds, financial services, all of that will be on the table – agriculture purchases, industrial purchases, energy purchases, getting tariff and non-tariff barriers down.”...MUCH MORE
