SHANGHAI: US and Chinese envoys have met for talks aimed at ending a tariff war after President Donald Trump rattled financial markets by accusing Beijing of stalling in the hope he will fail to win re-election in 2020.The meeting in Shanghai ended about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Neither delegation spoke to reporters before US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin left for the airport.Economists said a quick breakthrough was unlikely because the two governments face the same disagreements over China’s technology policy and trade surplus which caused previous talks to break down in May.Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed in June to resume negotiations, but neither has given any sign of offering big concessions. The dispute over US complaints that Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology has battered exporters on both sides and disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment.Trump has raised tariffs on 250 billion dollars (£205 billion) of Chinese imports while Beijing responded by taxing 110 billion dollars (£90 billion) of US products.Chinese leaders are resisting US pressure to roll back plans for government-led development of industry leaders in robotics, artificial intelligence and other technologies.Washington complains those efforts depend on stealing or pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. For their part, American negotiators are reluctant to cede to Chinese demands that punitive US tariffs be lifted immediately. Trump wants to keep some penalties in place to ensure Beijing carries out any agreement.Rhetoric on both sides has hardened, prompting suggestions US and Chinese leaders are settling in for a “war of attrition”. In Washington, Trump accused Beijing of wanting to stall through the 2020 presidential election in hopes of being able to negotiate with a more malleable Democrat. He said that if re-elected, he would get “much tougher” with Beijing.“China would love to wait and just hope,” Trump told reporters. “They’ll pray that Trump loses,” he said. “And then they’ll make a deal with a stiff, somebody that doesn’t know what they’re doing.”Negotiators in Shanghai were also expected to discuss the fate of telecom equipment giant Huawei. Washington put the company, China’s first global tech brand, on a security list in May that blocks purchases of US components and technology.The United States says Huawei is a national security threat, an accusation the company denies. Trump has said the issue could be a bargaining chip in the trade dispute.
08-01-2019, 05:12 AM
US and China end trade talks as Trump talks tough
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