Postponement of the US-China Phase One Trade Agreement Implementation Review Meeting

Estimation of the Impact of the China Beidahu Conference

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The high-level meeting scheduled for the 15th (local time) to review the implementation of the Phase 1 US-China trade agreement has been postponed.

One major foreign news outlet reported this on the day, citing multiple sources, and stated that a new meeting date has not yet been set.

Regarding the reason for the postponement, one source said that the review meeting was delayed due to the ongoing Beidaihe meeting in China.

The Beidaihe meeting is an important event held around August where current and former Chinese leaders gather in Beidaihe, Hebei Province, to discuss major issues privately, but the exact dates of the meeting are usually not disclosed.

The source added that the postponement of the review meeting was not due to any substantial problems related to the US-China trade agreement.

Although it is presumed that the Chinese side may not have completed the implementation of the agreement conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevailing view is that neither side will break the agreement.

The meeting was expected to be held via video conference between Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Representative (USTR), Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury, and Liu He, Vice Premier of China, to review the status of the trade agreement implementation.

The two countries signed the Phase 1 trade agreement on January 15 and began implementation in February, with the agreement stipulating that the highest-level meetings be held every six months to review the implementation status.