A delegation of senior U.S. officials led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross returned from Beijing on Monday without a clear path forward on trade relations with China.
“The meetings focused on reducing the United States’ trade deficit by facilitating the supply of agricultural and energy products to meet China’s growing consumption needs, which will help support growth and employment in the United States,” the White House said Monday in a readout of the weekend summit in Beijing.
Ross joined China’s top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, over the weekend to discuss the Trump administration’s concerns over China’s trade surplus of $375.3 billion and President Trump’s renewed threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Officials in Beijing had warned the U.S. ahead of its second round of negotiations that the process should be “based on the premise” of avoiding a “trade war,” according to a statement carried by state-run media.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told the Trump administration his country will remain open to resolving the trade dispute unless and until the U.S. moves forward with new tariffs. China made no mention of new agreements prior to Ross’ departure.
The standstill with China comes as Trump faces backlash for imposing new tariffs last week on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and our European partners. The president is slated to meet with leaders from those countries at the G7 summit in Quebec on Friday.
