Aligning interests key to trade talks

Observers expect Sino-US meetings to bring benefits bilaterally, globally

BEIJING: China and the United States are scheduled to conclude the latest round of high-level economic and trade consultations on Friday, with the occasion seen as a further attempt to de-escalate trade tensions ahead of March 1 tariff truce deadline.

Experts urged the two countries to work to better understand each other, align their interests and coordinate policies so as to benefit both sides and the rest of the world.

On Thursday, Vice-Premier Liu He, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin chaired the opening ceremony of the talks. It followed two days of vice-ministerial level trade talks.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng revealed few details about the ongoing consultations at the Thursday news briefing. But he did say that foreign direct investment from the US into the Chinese mainland recorded a 124.6% year-on-year growth in January.



Gao said the substantial rise of US direct investment flowing into China can be attributed to the Chinese government’s years-long efforts to improve the business environment.

He said the country will make continued efforts to create a business environment that is conducive to the operation of various types of enterprises, and attract more foreign investment.

Embroiled in trade frictions for months, China and the US had levied hefty import tariffs on each other. The two sides are now in the midst of a 90-day tariff truce, which began on Dec 1, when President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Intense negotiations have been conducted, and touched on a wide range of issues such as trade and structural issues.

This article originally appeared on the China Economic Net 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2019.

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