Both sides had been expected to talk two weekends ago as part of a six-month review since the agreement, signed in January, took effect Feb. 15. But President Donald Trump said he canceled those plans because he’s unhappy with China over its role in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prior to the talks, Bloomberg News reported that China would raise the issue of Washington’s recent crackdown on businesses including TikTok and WeChat. The topic was not mentioned in the statements from the two countries. TikTok on Monday asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from enacting the ban on its app.
Some Progress
China has made some progress on its commitments. It modified regulations to allow imports of a variety of American farm and food products, while removing foreign equity caps in insurance, securities, and futures. It also lowered other financial market barriers and gave the green light to enterprises like American Express Co., MasterCard Inc. and Fitch Ratings Inc. to enter its market.
U.S. oil exports to China are set to reach a record next month, with about 19 tankers signing provisional bookings to load American crude for the Asian nation in September, according to shipping fixtures, which are subject to change. If all of them set sail, exports could total 37 million barrels, the most on record for a single month.
China’s customs has also strengthened a crackdown on counterfeits and released quarterly reports as set out in the agreement. The Supreme Court has issued a series of work guidelines and implementation plans on ensuring and improving legal enforcement of violations of intellectual property rights, while the National Intellectual Property Administration also published a work plan for strengthening IP protection in 2020 and 2021.
Trump has projected a more conciliatory tone than he did in early May, when he threatened in a Fox News interview that “if they don’t buy, we’ll terminate the deal, very simple.” In recent days he has sounded more satisfied with Beijing’s compliance with the trade deal even if he’s not about China’s handling of the coronavirus.
This story was provided by Bloomberg News.