Rumors of US-China Trade Representative Meeting... Chinese Government Says "Will Announce If There Is Progress"

Gaopeng, Spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, in Briefing
"China Also Monitoring Related News"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As trade negotiation representatives from the US and China held their first meeting and expectations arose that discussions on the Phase 1 trade agreement would take place, the Chinese government hinted at the possibility of the meeting being realized.

According to the internet edition of China Central (CC) TV on the 13th, Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, stated at an afternoon briefing, "China is also closely monitoring related news," and added, "If there is progress in the situation, an announcement will be made in due course."

Spokesperson Gao also implied that both the US and China still wish for the withdrawal of some of the additional tariffs imposed on each other. He said, "Unilateral additional tariffs are not beneficial to China, the US, or the world," and added, "The China-US trade relationship is mutually beneficial, and both sides should resolve each other's reasonable concerns through dialogue based on mutual respect and equality."

Earlier, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 7th, citing anonymous sources, that the US-China trade negotiation representatives could meet for the first time and engage in discussions at a fundamental level. Catherine Tai, US Trade Representative (USTR), also said at a Financial Times (FT) forum on the 5th, "I have not yet met (my Chinese counterpart). I look forward to the meeting and hope it will be soon."

During President Trump's administration in January last year, the US and China reached a Phase 1 trade agreement centered on China making additional large-scale purchases of goods and services from the US. However, China did not properly fulfill the original target of purchasing a total of $200 billion (approximately 217 trillion KRW) worth of US goods and services during the Phase 1 implementation period. The US also maintained high tariffs of 25% on Chinese products worth $250 billion (approximately 278.5 trillion KRW) annually, keeping tensions between the two countries.

Meanwhile, according to a report by the Bank of Korea, US imports from China have recently recovered to pre-trade dispute levels. US imports from China increased from the second half of last year, surpassing the amount before the trade dispute in terms of value. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government significantly expanded fiscal spending to aid economic recovery, leading to increased imports. The quarter-on-quarter growth rate of US imports, annualized, went from -54.1% in Q2 last year to 93.1% in Q3 and 29.8% in Q4, continuing the recovery trend. The first quarter of this year recorded a 5.7% increase. However, China's share of the US import market remains lower than before the trade dispute.