China is preparing to replace its existing ‘Made in China 2025’ industrial policy with one that promises more openness to foreign countries.
The policy has been a bone of contention with the Trump administration, which has sought broad changes in its ongoing trade talks with Beijing to help U.S. companies compete in China.
The new policy will play down China’s vision of dominating world manufacturing in high tech, automobiles, robotics, and other areas, according to anonymous sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The revamped version will be rolled out early next year when the U.S. and Beijing are set to begin new talks on trade matters. President Trump has set March 1 as a deadline to reach a consensus before the U.S. increases tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
One purported concession by China would be dropping numerical targets for state-owned companies to obtain market share in a given area. The new policy would also allow for more competition between state-owned and private companies, a goal the Trump administration has pushed.
It is unclear exactly how China would go about altering its existing policies. The current administration and past administrations have often complained that China makes such promises then does little if anything to follow through.
President Trump has slammed the Made in China 2025 policy calling it “very insulting” last month. He has been positive about recent talks however, tweeting Tuesday, “Very productive conversations going on with China! Watch for some important announcements!”
