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The US-China talks will be “extremely difficult,” but re-engagement is the right strategy to take, according to a vice president and general manager of a US-based think tank.
The comments by Wendy Cutler of the Asia Society Policy Institute came after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Monday she was anxiously awaiting negotiations with the Chinese.
Cutler told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday that China was different from what it was two years ago before the so-called “phase one” trade deal signed with the Trump administration.
Beijing is now very confident and has a “very tough attitude,” said Cutler, who was previously the US deputy trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC affairs.
“It’s going to be difficult to go sledding, but again I think Ambassador Tai, in exposing the fact that she wants to re-engage with China – that’s the right strategy at the moment,” said she declared.
Tai also said on Monday that she was unsure whether she could trust Beijing until she had a chance to speak to her counterparts – a position with which the foreign legal consultant at Hogan Lovells, Benjamin Kostrzewa, agreed.
“I think she is right to enter these talks with some suspicion,” said Kostrzewa, who was the former deputy general counsel in the office of the US trade representative. “Discussions between the Biden administration and China… have been very difficult so far.”
He told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Tuesday that it was becoming more difficult to reach consensus due to disagreement on both sides, and that there was “no real stall” for many tensions between the two sides. United States and China.
Cutler of Asia Society said bilateral talks will not be an easy and clear path to a resolution.
Tai sounded realistic and acknowledged that China might refuse to respond to U.S. concerns, in which case Washington would use other tools to respond, Cutler said.
Still, the former trade negotiator said she saw a “possible thaw in relations” between Washington and Beijing, noting that the two presidents recently spoke on the phone.
Tai’s announcement that she will reconnect with her Chinese counterpart also indicates a willingness to see if there is a way to defuse the tensions, she added.
– CNBC’s Amanda Macias and Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
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