Trade talks in China extend as Trump pushes to conclude deal

His comments at the Oval Office follow four days of talks between US and Chinese negotiators, which Mr. Trump has extended throughout the weekend. "We have good discussions and it is possible that something very exciting can happen," he said.

Among the achievements cited by Mr Trump, there is a pact with Beijing aimed at countering the manipulation of the currency, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has described as "one of the most solid agreements ever concluded with regard to money ".

But neither the man nor the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He provided any details on this agreement. Likewise, none of the officials at the Oval Office offered any details to support his assertions of progress.

Chinese business circles, the government, and Congress say they are troubled by what they see as Trump 's growing impatience for an agreement and urge him to remain firm and tough. insist that China make fundamental changes to its industrial policy.

"I am encouraged by the signs of progress but remain concerned that the President will accept a quick offer of US goods rather than fundamental reforms of China's systemic problems," said Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey.

Those informed of the details of the negotiations said that the two sides were still far removed from the main issues of the talks: the pressure exerted by the Chinese government on American companies to transfer their technology to Chinese partners; subsidies to Chinese public enterprises; and protection of intellectual property. Both parties also remain stuck on how to enforce any agreement.

The US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, said progress had been made on unspecified structural problems, but warned that there remained some "big" hurdles to overcome before a agreement is reached. "It's a bit early for champagne," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

Michael Wessel, a congressional panel commissioner on China, who advises Trump's trade team, said the 2020 presidential policy was behind Trump's decision to reach an agreement. "It seems the Chinese have forced the president back a bit," Wessel said. "They are likely to tackle the most serious public issues that could come up before the 2020 election and handle the relationship so far. The Chinese do not want to be an election subject either. "

The talks come as Mr Trump has to decide to extend the March 1 deadline for reaching an agreement, which would prevent 10% tariffs on $ 200 billion of Chinese imports from rising to 25 percent. % at 12:01 the next day. Mr. Trump stated that he was ready for an extension of "another month or less".

He also stated that he would meet "possibly" Mr. Xi in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, sometime later next month.

According to Michael Pillsbury, a researcher at the Hudson Institute China for China, the United States will urge Chinese negotiators to be more specific over the weekend. "The White House hopes the Chinese will accept detailed descriptions of a meaningful deal," he said.

The administration cited China's commitment to acquire an additional 10 million tons of soybeans grown in the United States, among other things. According to statistics from the US Department of Agriculture, this amount would represent nearly one-third of all US soybean imports into China in 2017. Agency officials did not immediately specify the timing of China's newly agreed purchases.

Trump suggested that the talks could expand to China's Huawei Technologies Co. and telecommunications companies.

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, which have been scrutinized in the United States. The United States lobbied its allies to avoid Huawei for security reasons and ordered the arrest in December of Meng Wanzhou, his chief financial officer, for allegedly violating US sanctions against him. # 39; Iran.

"We can or can not include this in the trade agreement," Trump said, adding that any decision would be made jointly with Attorney General William Barr.

On the issue of currency, people familiar with the negotiations say that Beijing is largely committed to keeping the yuan at a stable level and not engaging in a competitive devaluation in order to give boost for Chinese exporters in foreign markets. It has been China's policy for some time.

"The art of bargaining is to concede things that do not interest you, while making a lot of noise," said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, a leading trade association. banks. "Any promise from China to keep the yuan stable under a trade agreement would be exactly that."

It is also far from clear that any exchange promises made by Beijing would be enforceable through trade sanctions. A negotiated monetary agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, made this promise non-binding.

The Chinese central bank maintains strict control over the yuan despite years of promises to make the currency more market-oriented. Over the past year, it has been trying to prevent the yuan from falling too fast, fearing that too much depreciation will lead to excessive capital outflows that could destabilize a financial system already facing debt. increasing.

The proposed deal also reflects a growing gap between Mr. Trump and Mr. Lighthizer, say people familiar with the deliberations of the administration. In the past year, Mr. Lighthizer has successfully recommended to Mr. Trump to impose tariffs on Chinese products despite Mr. Mnuchin's objections.

But after the stock market slumped late last fall, Trump's appetite for a tariff battle with China has declined, officials said. Recently, the Office of the US Trade Representative sent thank you calls to those who appeared on television or in the press to ask the administration to take a tougher stance on China.

"Lighthizer had a good command of the domestic game before," said Gene Sperling, a former chief economic officer for the Clinton and Obama administrations, who negotiated trade deals with China. "As Trump becomes more and more eager for any deal, he is now forced to play an outside game to keep up the pressure."

During the Oval Office session with his secretaries of cabinet and Mr. Liu, the President put Mr. Lighthizer on the loose when he began to discuss the future trade agreement as a memorandum of understanding. 39; agreement.

"I do not agree," Trump replied. "I think that a protocol agreement is not a contract as far as we wish … For me, the final deal is really what matters, Bob. For me, memoranda of understanding mean nothing. "

Trump's comments reflect the criticism of Lou Dobbs, influential Fox Business host to the president and his main supporters, on Thursday night's MOU. "A memorandum of understanding is not worth the paper on which it is written," Dobbs said.

"Trump's words come out of Lou Dobbs's mouth last night," said a Trump advisor. "If you're part of the 2020 campaign, you want to protect Trump against aggression from the right."

-Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

Write to Bob Davis at [email protected] and Lingling Wei at [email protected]