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China's cancellation of planned visit to central US farms has been made at the request of the United States, sources close to the case said, saying it was not caused by a reversal negative of the low level talks held in Washington last week.
The US Trade Representative's office, Robert Lighthizer, only learned of the visit after it was put in place and later asked the Chinese delegation not to go, one of the officials said. Another person told the Chinese that it was for domestic reasons.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He plans to travel to Washington the second week of October to meet with Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for high-level negotiations, according to separate people familiar with this planning. Both parties plan to organize a high-level meeting. around October 10th.
The announcement of this cancellation took place about an hour after President Donald Trump had declared that he was not interested in a "partial agreement" with China, based on an increase in purchases of American agricultural products by Beijing. Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture Han Jun, a member of the trade delegation, said Saturday at a Washington event that the farm visit had been discussed but not finalized, and the US will issue an invitation. for another time.
"The negotiations on the agricultural sector went very well and both sides had frank and frank communication," Han told the event, according to Chinese media reports. He also said that China is willing to expand agricultural trade with the United States and strengthen cooperation "on the basis of equality and mutual respect".
& # 39; Goodwill gesture
US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said Thursday that the Chinese delegation's visit to the farm was a gesture of "good will" from Beijing.
But Friday, the Montana Farm Bureau federation told the Chinese Embassy that the delegation "had changed its agenda" and that it would return to China sooner than expected. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture, which had also planned to host the delegation, confirmed that their visit was also canceled.
US agriculture has become a major target for Beijing, where leaders are aware of the political importance of the rural American for Trump's reelection. China's retaliatory tariffs on everything from American apricots to soybeans have dampened demand at a time when producers have also suffered from extreme weather conditions.
At a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday, Trump told reporters that the dispute would not hurt his bid for reelection for 2020. He said he would not give up without a "full agreement" with China.
Trump said that he had an "astonishing" relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, they currently have "a little spit".
"I think voters understand that," added the president. "I do not think it has an impact on the elections."
Bad faith charges
Nevertheless, Trump said his re-election prospects would likely be "positive" if both countries could reach an agreement.
US and Chinese negotiators held "productive" talks Thursday and Friday in Washington, the US Trade Representative's office said in a statement. The United States is eager to hold talks at the main level in October, the statement said.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce called the meetings "constructive" and said the two sides had agreed to continue the communication on relevant issues, according to a statement released Saturday. The ministry did not immediately respond to a fax regarding the farm tour and the dates of the next round of talks.
Larry Kudlow, the White House's economic adviser, said recent developments have created a "positive atmosphere" around this impasse fueled by bad-faith accusations on both sides.
But Trump's remarks on Friday tempered optimism that a partial deal could break the stalemate. Government officials have already considered proposing to China an interim trade agreement that would delay or even cancel some US tariffs in exchange for Chinese commitments on intellectual property and agricultural purchases.
A limited deal would likely shake markets and ease the economic burden caused by the conflict as Trump intensified its re-election campaign in 2020. The President has repeatedly denied that tariffs have hurt the US economy, saying that China bore the burden.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at [email protected], Mike Dorning in Washington at [email protected], Jordan Fabian in Washington at [email protected], Mario Parker in Chicago at mparker22 @ bloomberg. net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at [email protected], Sharon Chen, James Mayger
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