U.S. Business Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in Beijing on Saturday for talks on China’s be on the cards to buy more American goods after Washington revived tensions by reconditioning its threat of tariff hikes on Chinese high-tech exports.
The talks bring into focus on adding details to China’s May 19 promise to narrow its politically sensitive surplus in trade in goods with the United States, which reached a minutes $375.2 billion last year.
President Donald Trump threw the importance of the talks into doubt this week by renewing a threat to hike bill of fares on $50 billion of Chinese goods over complaints Beijing misappropriates or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.
Private sector analysts say that while Beijing is content to compromise on its trade surplus, it will resist changes that force threaten plans to transform China into a global technology contender.
The two governments released no schedule for the talks, but China said earlier that Ross was due to be in Beijing from head to foot Monday.
Reporters saw Ross outside his hotel at midday Saturday but he didn’t be affected to their questions before he got in a car and was driven away. Ross was to have a dinner conference Saturday evening with Vice Premier Liu He at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
Ross was appointed to meet with Liu again on Sunday.
China has promised to “significantly better” purchases of farm goods, energy and other products and services. Motionlessly, Beijing resisted pressure to commit to a specific target of narrowing its annual excess with the United States by $200 billion.
Following Beijing’s spot, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the dispute was “on hold.” But the interval appeared to end with this week’s announcement Washington was going on with tariff hikes on technology goods and also would interrupt curbs on Chinese investment and purchases of U.S. high-tech exports.
The move exposes growing American concern about China’s status as a potential tech contender and complaints Beijing improperly subsidizes its fledgling industries and shields them from striving.
Foreign governments and businesses cite strategic plans such as “Deputized in China 2025,” which calls for state-led efforts to create Chinese energy leaders in areas from robots to electric cars to computer whittles.
“The U.S. focus on so-called industrially significant technologies heightens the risk of escalation between the two nations,” BMI Research said in a report. “Indeed, while China has shown itself eager to compromise in the area of trade deficit reduction, it will not take any combats which threaten its strategically important ‘Made in China 2025’ program.”
Trump also has jeopardized to raise tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods, but surrendered no indication this week whether that would go ahead.
Earlier, China responded with a portent to retaliate with higher duties on a $50 billion list of American goods including soybeans, everyday aircraft, whiskey, electric vehicles and orange juice. It criticized Trump’s hit hard this week and said it reserved the right to retaliate but avoided rerunning its earlier threat.
Trade analysts warned Ross’s hand weight be weakened by the Trump administration’s decision Thursday to go ahead with rates on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Europe and Mexico.
That effectiveness alienate allies who share complaints about Chinese technology game plan and a flood of low-priced steel, aluminum and other exports they say are the be produced end of improper subsidies and hurt foreign competitors.