US-China trade talks: Steven Mnuchin positive after ‘productive meetings’
- WeChat account linked to Chinese state media says teams worked late into night and shared ‘good atmosphere’ also cited by White House’s Larry Kudlow
- But the countries were far apart on major US requests as they continued to seek an agreement, sources said
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sounded a positive note as he wrapped up two days of trade talks between China and the US on Friday before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Productive meetings with China’s Vice-Premier Liu He and @USTradeRep Amb. Lighthizer,” Mnuchin said in a tweet.
The two sides are scrambling for an agreement despite remaining far apart on key structural issues, as US President Donald Trump considers pushing back the March 1 end of their 90-day tariffs truce.
The WeChat public account Taoran Notes said in a report on Friday that although there was limited information coming out of the closed-door talks, negotiations had been extended until late at night. Taoran is the account of a senior member of editorial staff at the state-run Economic Daily, and the article was republished by state broadcaster CCTV and the Communist Party’s official mouthpiece People’s Daily.
“There was laughter coming out of the venue,” the report said. “Not only is there a good atmosphere, but the working groups from both sides reportedly worked late, exchanging views all night. There must be things to discuss to keep discussions going so late.”
After tough negotiations that began on Monday in the Chinese capital, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mnuchin will next meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in a move White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow described as a “very good sign”.
“They’re covering all the ground. They’re hard at it,” he told reporters on Thursday. “They’re just soldiering on. The vibe is good.”
‘Like pulling teeth’: In trade talks, China and US said to be far apart on structural changes by Beijing
But sources close to the discussions told the South China Morning Post the two sides remained at odds over major US requests including those on intellectual property protection and reciprocal market access. One person described Beijing as making only “cosmetic, non-impactful offers” on issues such as industrial subsidies, saying it was “like pulling teeth”.
Kudlow said in an interview with US broadcaster Fox News that “no decision has been made so far” on whether the US would extend the March 1 deadline for a trade deal before it raises tariffs at midnight on March 2 on US$200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
Mnuchin and Lighthizer did not comment on the progress of negotiations as they left their hotel on Friday morning.
Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet top US delegation on Friday in pursuit of trade war deal
Trump has signalled a willingness to extend the deadline if the sides are close to an agreement, but said he and Xi would not meet before the cut-off date – a meeting that was seen as vital to finalising a deal. Raised tariffs would end the 90-day truce brokered by Trump and Xi in December, escalating a trade war that has raged since July.
Both sides have worked to tackle a range of issues including China’s trade surplus with the US, market access, intellectual property protection, forced technology transfer, state-backed industrial policies and subsidies, cyber theft, and currency controls. The Chinese side has been led by Liu, who travelled to Washington at the end of January and met Trump in the Oval Office.
With only two weeks remaining of the 90 days, negotiators have discussed the possibility of removing the 10 per cent punitive tariffs Washington imposed on US$200 billion of Chinese products while keeping the 25 per cent tariffs already placed on US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods, two sources told the Post earlier.
Trump has also considered extending the trade truce by 60 days to allow more time for negotiations, Bloomberg reported.
