A trade compromise between China and the US could be close

A trade compromise between China and the US could be close, according to several US news organisations.

The New York Times reports that China’s Vice Minister of Commerce for International Trade, Wang Shouwen, “called on Saturday for a compromise between the United States and China that could make a trade deal easier to reach this spring.”

Chinese officials have “strongly resisted” the US Administration’s demand for “what it calls an enforcement provision” in exchange for “rolling back at least some of the tariffs it placed on $250bn of imports from China that it imposed last year.”

At a morning press briefing in Beijing, however, Wang “raised a possible compromise”, saying that “China would be amenable to an agreement that gave each side an equal right to take trade actions against the other side after an agreement was struck.”

“Any implementation mechanism must go in both directions, fair and equal,” he said

Separately, Wang declined to answer a question about whether President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping “might meet in Florida this month to seal a trade deal.”

According to the Associated Press, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said: “American and Chinese envoys discussed sticking to promises to avoid currency devaluations to boost exports during negotiations aimed at ending a tariff war.”

Yi gave no indication the two sides reached any agreements during their latest round of talks in Washington beyond previous commitments made at meetings of the Group of 20 major economies.

At a news conference on Sunday, Yi said negotiators “discussed that both sides should adhere to the principle of market-determined exchange rate regime.” He added that “they ‘discussed that both sides should abide by’ promises at G20 meetings to avoid ‘using exchange rates for competitive purposes’.”

Reuters, meanwhile, reported that President Trump on Friday said he is “confident the United States can forge a trade deal with China”, but added that he thinks his country would “do very well with or without an agreement with the world’s second-largest economy.”

“Sure, I’m confident, but if we don’t make a very good deal for our country, I wouldn’t make a deal,” said Trump

Finally, in an editorial, the Times wrote that the “outlines of a potential trade deal with China suggest President Trump once again is prioritising superficial gains over America’s long-term economic interests.”