US and China resume negotiations on trade war in Beijing

The United States and China open their new round of talks on Thursday, as part of a new effort to overcome the trade tensions that keep the global economy in abeyance.

The US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizerand the secretary of the treasury, Steven Mnuchin, they must resume talks, the first since China adopted domestic measures that have been interpreted as a gesture of support for the bilateral effort.

Although President Donald Trump recently expressed the hope that he could soon sign an agreement with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Negotiations drag on without reaching substantial problems of misunderstanding.

Therefore, Lighthizer has already tried to reduce expectations before this meeting in Beijing, which will be followed by further discussions early April in Washington.

"If there is a big problem to seal, we will do it, but we will look for another plan," said the official at the national public radio this week.

The two giants of the economy were reciprocally imposed tariffs of 201 billion dollars in 2018, in a duel that affected the industry and agriculture of the two countries, with effects in many other economies.

Even Trump himself suggested that tariffs adopted by Washington could be maintained even if an agreement is reached, to verify that China is fulfilling its share.

Negotiations to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries continue after the extension of the initial 90-day deadline – expiring on 1 March – established by the truce signed on 1 December 2018 by US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

In late February, Trump announced that the United States has delayed the expected rise in tariffs on Chinese products in the face of "advances" achieved in the last round of trade talks in Washington.

Persistent differences
However, China has taken steps to respond to US complaints.

In early March, the Chinese Parliament suddenly approved a law that protects foreign companies from the need for technology transfer, one of the main complaints of the United States. Prime Minister Li Keqiang reiterated Thursday the commitment to increase sanctions against those who violate intellectual property, a central node of the conflict with Washington.

Although the United States has directly criticized Chinese practices, Lighthizer said in the week that "some of the things we are asking for are not anti-Chinese".

"The protection of intellectual property is not anti-China, stop the transfer of technology is not anti-China, even if someone says that they are" pro-Chinese "because it will help their economy," he said.

The negotiators hope to resolve some of the differences that remain unresolved. parallel issues, such as Chinese subsidies to state-owned enterprises and the policy of setting up Chinese enterprises in strategic sectors.

"In our talks with the US government, we were told that grants that match the playing field between foreign and domestic strings are still being negotiated," said Jacob Parker, vice president of US-China Business. Council.

When Li introduced the government's political plans in early March, he did not mention the controversial industrial policy known as "Made in China," which encouraged companies to control strategic industries.

Lack of confidence
However, badysts point out that Beijing's drive for innovation will continue in practice. Other technology companies have limited access to the Chinese market and giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are subject to severe restrictions.

Therefore, China have yet to make concessions to allow greater access to the market of cloud technology companies, according to a newspaper article Financial Times from this week.

But in a recent forum devoted to the issue, academics and Chinese officials have criticized the equivalent policies of the United States.

"China does not trust the US government. We do not think that once our data is in the United States, the country will treat them appropriately."said Xu Chengjin of the Ministry of Industry.

Equally, US regulators and regulators are expressing concerns about sharing data.

(With information from AFP and EFE)