US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 gathering in Japan next month. Trump said he expects his discussion with Xi to be "very fruitful", as the trade war between China and the United States intensified this week.

Donald Trump says he will meet China's Xi Jinping at G20 next month

Trade dispute between US and China and sanctions on Iran have affected exports. Chinese exporters say they are facing revenue loss due to both reasons.

Chinese exporters face revenue loss amid US-China trade war, Iran sanctions

This segment of WION brings to you top stories of the morning from across the globe. Watch this video to get updated with the latest information.

WION Speed News: Watch top national and international news of the morning, May 14th 2019

India has delayed the implementation of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/if-someone-attacks-us-on-our-doorstep-we-will-fight-to-the-finish-china-on-trade-war-with-us-218705">higher tariffs on some goods</a> imported from the United States to June 16, according to a government statement.

The new duties were to come into force from May 16.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-he-feels-us-china-trade-talks-going-to-be-very-successful-218515">new steel and aluminium tariffs</a>, New Delhi announced in June last year a plan to raise the import tax on US products such as almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariffs. In October last year, Trump described India as a "tariff king" as he reiterated his allegations that New Delhi has a high tariff rate on various American products.

India's proposed retaliatory tariffs are far less than that by China on more than 800 American agricultural products which accounted for approximately $20.6 billion in exports to the US in 2017.

India ranked third as a destination for US apple exports in 2017, purchasing $97 million of US apples, or 10 per cent of the total exports. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.

According to a US Congressional report, India's proposed retaliatory tariffs against US agricultural products including apples, almonds and lentils will have an adverse impact on American exports worth nearly $900 million.

Countries have imposed tariffs on American agricultural products to retaliate against actions the Trump administration took in March, 2018 to protect US steel and aluminium producers and in response to Chinese intellectual property rights and technology policies.

Since then, over 800 US food and agricultural products have been subject to retaliatory tariffs from China, the EU, Turkey, Canada and Mexico.

(Inputs: Reuters and PTI)

India has delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to June 16, according to a government statement. The new duties were to come into force from May 16.

India has delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to June 16, according to a government statement. The new duties were to come into force from May 16. Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminium tariffs, New Delhi announced in June last year a plan to raise the import tax on US products such as almonds, walnuts and apples. But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariffs. In October last year, Trump described India as a "tariff king" as he reiterated his allegations that New Delhi has a high tariff rate on various American products. India's proposed retaliatory tariffs are far less than that by China on more than 800 American agricultural products which accounted for approximately $20.6 billion in exports to the US in 2017. India ranked third as a destination for US apple exports in 2017, purchasing $97 million of US apples, or 10 per cent of the total exports. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India. According to a US Congressional report, India's proposed retaliatory tariffs against US agricultural products including apples, almonds and lentils will have an adverse impact on American exports worth nearly $900 million. Countries have imposed tariffs on American agricultural products to retaliate against actions the Trump administration took in March, 2018 to protect US steel and aluminium producers and in response to Chinese intellectual property rights and technology policies. Since then, over 800 US food and agricultural products have been subject to retaliatory tariffs from China, the EU, Turkey, Canada and Mexico. (Inputs: Reuters and PTI)

India postpones levying retaliatory tariff on US goods

Indian equities Tuesday reversed their nine-session losing streak, with the BSE Sensex recovering over 227 points and the NSE Nifty regaining nearly 74 points, helped by gains in pharma, banking and energy stocks.

Sensex heavyweights Reliance Industries, ITC and SBI were mainly responsible for the recovery.

In percentage terms, however, Sun Pharma topped the chart with 5.87 per cent. Other major gainers include Bharti Airtel, Vedanta, Indusind Bank, SBI and RIL -- rising as much as 5.40 per cent.

On the flip side, TCS, HCL Tech, Bjaja Finance, Bajaj Auto and Infosys were among the top losers on the 30-share index.

The gauge started off the session on a slightly positive note at 37,146.58 against the previous close of 37,090.82. Intra-day, the index touched a high of 37,572.70 and a low of 36,956.10. It finally settled the day at 37,318.53, gaining 227.71 points or 0.61 per cent.

Similarly, the NSE gauge Nifty opened higher at 11,151.65 and touched a high of 11,294.75 and low of 11,108.30 during the session. It finally ended at 11,222.05, 73.85 points or 0.66 per cent higher.

On Monday, Indian bourses had registered losses for the ninth consecutive session.

In the last nine sessions, the Sensex had lost 1,940.73 points and the Nifty has given away nearly 600 points.

The Tuesday's trade, mainly the first half of the session, was marked by intense volatility as investors appeared cautious weighing a host of headwinds like concerns on macro-economic front, US-China trade war tensions and uncertainty over election outcome.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee staged a mild recovery, trading 13 paise higher at 70.38 against the US dollar in intra-day.

In Asia, all leading bourses witnessed mild to heavy sell-offs on Tuesday after US-China trade war further intensified.

In a retaliatory move, China on Monday said it would raise tariffs on US goods worth nearly $60 billion.

Brent Futures, global crude oil benchmark, traded higher at USD 70.89 per barrel, up 0.94 per cent, on concerns about supply disruptions in view of geo-political tensions in the crucial oil producing region of the Middle East.

The escalating trade war between the US and China is causing more market volatility around the world.&nbsp;

Indian equities Tuesday reversed their nine-session losing streak, with the BSE Sensex recovering over 227 points and the NSE Nifty regaining nearly 74 points, helped by gains in pharma, banking and energy stocks.

Indian equities Tuesday reversed their nine-session losing streak, with the BSE Sensex recovering over 227 points and the NSE Nifty regaining nearly 74 points, helped by gains in pharma, banking and energy stocks. Sensex heavyweights Reliance Industries, ITC and SBI were mainly responsible for the recovery. In percentage terms, however, Sun Pharma topped the chart with 5.87 per cent. Other major gainers include Bharti Airtel, Vedanta, Indusind Bank, SBI and RIL -- rising as much as 5.40 per cent. On the flip side, TCS, HCL Tech, Bjaja Finance, Bajaj Auto and Infosys were among the top losers on the 30-share index. The gauge started off the session on a slightly positive note at 37,146.58 against the previous close of 37,090.82. Intra-day, the index touched a high of 37,572.70 and a low of 36,956.10. It finally settled the day at 37,318.53, gaining 227.71 points or 0.61 per cent. Similarly, the NSE gauge Nifty opened higher at 11,151.65 and touched a high of 11,294.75 and low of 11,108.30 during the session. It finally ended at 11,222.05, 73.85 points or 0.66 per cent higher. On Monday, Indian bourses had registered losses for the ninth consecutive session. In the last nine sessions, the Sensex had lost 1,940.73 points and the Nifty has given away nearly 600 points. The Tuesday's trade, mainly the first half of the session, was marked by intense volatility as investors appeared cautious weighing a host of headwinds like concerns on macro-economic front, US-China trade war tensions and uncertainty over election outcome. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee staged a mild recovery, trading 13 paise higher at 70.38 against the US dollar in intra-day. In Asia, all leading bourses witnessed mild to heavy sell-offs on Tuesday after US-China trade war further intensified. In a retaliatory move, China on Monday said it would raise tariffs on US goods worth nearly $60 billion. Brent Futures, global crude oil benchmark, traded higher at USD 70.89 per barrel, up 0.94 per cent, on concerns about supply disruptions in view of geo-political tensions in the crucial oil producing region of the Middle East. The escalating trade war between the US and China is causing more market volatility around the world.

Sensex recovers over 227 points; Nifty up 73 points at 11,222.05

China announced higher tariffs on 60 billion US dollars worth of American goods in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's latest penalties on Chinese products, sending Wall Street into a slide.

China's hike of US tariffs sparks Asia stock losses

Boosting South African growth and overhauling bloated power firm Eskom are <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-africas-anc-celebrates-election-win-with-street-party-218233">post-election priorities for the African National Congress</a>, but a reduced majority may force <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cyril-ramaphosas-anc-win-closely-watched-south-africa-poll-with-absolute-majority-217627">President Cyril Ramaphosa</a> to compromise on those and other economic reforms.

Ramaphosa took office in February 2018 with a pledge to revive a sclerotic economy and attract foreign investors.

But as he prepares for his first full five-year term after the ANC last week saw its share of the national election vote fall below 60% for the first time, the country's structural problems remain acute.

The rand hit a more than two-week high on Friday when the ANC's parliamentary majority became unassailable, but on Monday the currency retreated and government bond yields rose as outside factors - notably the impact on emerging markets of the US-China trade war - gave investors pause.

"It now all hinges on (Ramaphosa) quickly presenting a political agenda and initiating the urgently required reforms once he has formed a government," Commerzbank analysts Ulrich Leuchtmann and Elisabeth Andreae wrote in a note on Monday.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/south-africa-election-ramaphosa-celebrates-election-victory-218237/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"...The country's problems are complex and the new government is facing a Herculean task."

As well as speeding up reforms of Eskom and other state-owned entities, Ramaphosa's long to-do list following his inauguration on May 25 will include generating jobs, acting against entrenched corruption in and outside the ANC and resolving policy uncertainty in the mining sector.

On Sunday, he promised a new approach.

"We are going to do things differently, we are going to do things effectively. We are going to make sure we inject growth ... we are going to invite investors," he told ANC supporters at a celebration rally.

Bloated cabinet

But facing party rivals who oppose his reforms, Ramaphosa has struggled to do exactly that since he succeeded scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma last year.

An early barometer of his ability to push through change more efficiently this time will be whether he manages to trim a cabinet comprising more than 30 ministers and deputies, analysts said.

His sympathisers in the ANC are hopeful.

"The cabinet is bloated, and that is not correct when we live in the harshest conditions in the economy. We will cut down the size of the cabinet, that will definitely happen," Fikile Mbalula, a member of the ANC executive, said on Friday.

The economy grew an estimated 0.8 per cent in 2018 after recovering from recession. Growth is forecast at 1.5 per cent this year, and one factor in hitting that target will be how the government manages Eskom's restructuring.

The utility faces generation capacity constraints and South Africa has been plagued by power cuts in the past year, undermining broader efforts to kick-start growth.

Also battling to preserve Pretoria's last investment-grade credit rating, Ramaphosa has pledged to restructure Eskom with a 23 billion rand ($1.62 billion) a year bailout over the next three years.

"Reforming Eskom will definitely gain momentum. That is something which government is serious about," Enoch Godongwana, head of the ANC's economic transformation sub-committee, said on Friday.

Eskom is one of the firms caught up in what has been termed "state capture" - widespread corruption involving billions of rand in government contracts.

Standard Chartered chief Africa economist Razia Khan said holding accountable those implicated in state graft was one of the most pressing issues for Ramaphosa.

"Although not an economic policy issue, action on state capture might provide the much-needed lift to investor and consumer confidence," she said.

Outside influences

Foreign investor interest in South Africa has waned since Ramaphosa took office, with non-domestic ownership of government bonds dipping to 39% at end-April 2019 from a peak of nearly 43% in March 2018.

Godongwana said the ANC was putting "confidence-building measures" in place, but warned against setting expectations too high.

"Economic growth is not something that you can declare. There are lots of puzzles. There is the global aspect which you don't have control over and investment decisions by third parties," he said.

But as well as luring back foreign investors, Ramaphosa will also need to strike a balance between stimulating the economy and quelling simmering discontent, notably via land reform, among the black majority over lingering wealth disparities.

The latter has arguably become more acute with the strong election showing of the far-left EFF party, which champions the rights of landless blacks. It won 44 seats and saw its share of the vote rise to 10.8%.

"High inequality and the rise of the EFF could prepare the ground for more populist economic policies," said rating agency Fitch said.

It acknowledged tensions between the government objectives of addressing inequality and accelerating GDP, but said it expected no significant negative impact from this on growth or budget metrics.

Sergey Dergachev, a senior portfolio manager at Germany-based Union Investment, meanwhile remains "underweight" South Africa.

"The underlying structural problems are still tough to tackle," he said. "...Even with a new mandate, it'll be very difficult to get South Africa back on a growth trend again."

Boosting South African growth and overhauling bloated power firm Eskom are post-election priorities for the African National Congress, but a reduced majority may force President Cyril Ramaphosa to compromise on those and other economic reforms.

Boosting South African growth and overhauling bloated power firm Eskom are post-election priorities for the African National Congress, but a reduced majority may force President Cyril Ramaphosa to compromise on those and other economic reforms. Ramaphosa took office in February 2018 with a pledge to revive a sclerotic economy and attract foreign investors. But as he prepares for his first full five-year term after the ANC last week saw its share of the national election vote fall below 60% for the first time, the country's structural problems remain acute. The rand hit a more than two-week high on Friday when the ANC's parliamentary majority became unassailable, but on Monday the currency retreated and government bond yields rose as outside factors - notably the impact on emerging markets of the US-China trade war - gave investors pause. "It now all hinges on (Ramaphosa) quickly presenting a political agenda and initiating the urgently required reforms once he has formed a government," Commerzbank analysts Ulrich Leuchtmann and Elisabeth Andreae wrote in a note on Monday. "...The country's problems are complex and the new government is facing a Herculean task." As well as speeding up reforms of Eskom and other state-owned entities, Ramaphosa's long to-do list following his inauguration on May 25 will include generating jobs, acting against entrenched corruption in and outside the ANC and resolving policy uncertainty in the mining sector. On Sunday, he promised a new approach. "We are going to do things differently, we are going to do things effectively. We are going to make sure we inject growth ... we are going to invite investors," he told ANC supporters at a celebration rally. Bloated cabinet But facing party rivals who oppose his reforms, Ramaphosa has struggled to do exactly that since he succeeded scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma last year. An early barometer of his ability to push through change more efficiently this time will be whether he manages to trim a cabinet comprising more than 30 ministers and deputies, analysts said. His sympathisers in the ANC are hopeful. "The cabinet is bloated, and that is not correct when we live in the harshest conditions in the economy. We will cut down the size of the cabinet, that will definitely happen," Fikile Mbalula, a member of the ANC executive, said on Friday. The economy grew an estimated 0.8 per cent in 2018 after recovering from recession. Growth is forecast at 1.5 per cent this year, and one factor in hitting that target will be how the government manages Eskom's restructuring. The utility faces generation capacity constraints and South Africa has been plagued by power cuts in the past year, undermining broader efforts to kick-start growth. Also battling to preserve Pretoria's last investment-grade credit rating, Ramaphosa has pledged to restructure Eskom with a 23 billion rand ($1.62 billion) a year bailout over the next three years. "Reforming Eskom will definitely gain momentum. That is something which government is serious about," Enoch Godongwana, head of the ANC's economic transformation sub-committee, said on Friday. Eskom is one of the firms caught up in what has been termed "state capture" - widespread corruption involving billions of rand in government contracts. Standard Chartered chief Africa economist Razia Khan said holding accountable those implicated in state graft was one of the most pressing issues for Ramaphosa. "Although not an economic policy issue, action on state capture might provide the much-needed lift to investor and consumer confidence," she said. Outside influences Foreign investor interest in South Africa has waned since Ramaphosa took office, with non-domestic ownership of government bonds dipping to 39% at end-April 2019 from a peak of nearly 43% in March 2018. Godongwana said the ANC was putting "confidence-building measures" in place, but warned against setting expectations too high. "Economic growth is not something that you can declare. There are lots of puzzles. There is the global aspect which you don't have control over and investment decisions by third parties," he said. But as well as luring back foreign investors, Ramaphosa will also need to strike a balance between stimulating the economy and quelling simmering discontent, notably via land reform, among the black majority over lingering wealth disparities. The latter has arguably become more acute with the strong election showing of the far-left EFF party, which champions the rights of landless blacks. It won 44 seats and saw its share of the vote rise to 10.8%. "High inequality and the rise of the EFF could prepare the ground for more populist economic policies," said rating agency Fitch said. It acknowledged tensions between the government objectives of addressing inequality and accelerating GDP, but said it expected no significant negative impact from this on growth or budget metrics. Sergey Dergachev, a senior portfolio manager at Germany-based Union Investment, meanwhile remains "underweight" South Africa. "The underlying structural problems are still tough to tackle," he said. "...Even with a new mandate, it'll be very difficult to get South Africa back on a growth trend again."

South Africa: Ramaphosa's economic reforms in focus as ANC adjusts to smaller majority

Japan's coincident indicator index declined in March and the government cut its assessment of the economy, a sign it may already be in recession as the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/americas/china-loves-ripping-off-america-says-us-president-donald-trump-218218">US-China trade war</a> and weak external demand hurt activity.

Worries about the economy have grown as Japan's exports and factory output was hit by China's economic slowdown and the escalating US-China trade friction, which had disrupted global supply chains.

The index of coincident economic indicators, which consists of a range of data including factory output, employment and retail sales, fell a preliminary 0.9 of a point in March from the previous month, the Cabinet Office said on Monday.

In its view on the index, the government described the economy as "worsening". That compared with its previous assessment for February when it described the economy at "a turning point towards a downgrade".

The index for leading economic indicators is compiled using data such as job offers and consumer sentiment and is seen as a forward-looking gauge of the economy. It slipped 0.8 of a point from February.

Clouding the outlook are government plans to raise a sales tax to 10 per cent from the current 8 per cent in October unless a big shock on the scale of Lehman Brothers' collapse in 2008 hits the economy.

There is also speculation <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/agree-with-trump-that-north-korea-must-denuclearise-japan-pm-shinzo-abe-216498">Prime Minister Shinzo Abe </a>may postpone the sales tax hike as risks to demand to grow, having already twice delayed it.

There are concerns the sales tax increase will damage private consumption as it did so when Japan raised the tax to 8 per cent from 5 per cent in 2014.

Japan releases gross domestic product (GDP) data on May 20, which will give a clearer read on the state of the economy and whether the government will proceed with the tax hike as scheduled.

The economy likely contracted at an annualised 0.2 per cent in January-March as corporate and consumer spending weakened, a Reuters poll showed.

Japan's coincident indicator index declined in March and the government cut its assessment of the economy, a sign it may already be in recession as the US-China trade war and weak external demand hurt activity.

Japan's coincident indicator index declined in March and the government cut its assessment of the economy, a sign it may already be in recession as the US-China trade war and weak external demand hurt activity. Worries about the economy have grown as Japan's exports and factory output was hit by China's economic slowdown and the escalating US-China trade friction, which had disrupted global supply chains. The index of coincident economic indicators, which consists of a range of data including factory output, employment and retail sales, fell a preliminary 0.9 of a point in March from the previous month, the Cabinet Office said on Monday. In its view on the index, the government described the economy as "worsening". That compared with its previous assessment for February when it described the economy at "a turning point towards a downgrade". The index for leading economic indicators is compiled using data such as job offers and consumer sentiment and is seen as a forward-looking gauge of the economy. It slipped 0.8 of a point from February. Clouding the outlook are government plans to raise a sales tax to 10 per cent from the current 8 per cent in October unless a big shock on the scale of Lehman Brothers' collapse in 2008 hits the economy. There is also speculation Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may postpone the sales tax hike as risks to demand to grow, having already twice delayed it. There are concerns the sales tax increase will damage private consumption as it did so when Japan raised the tax to 8 per cent from 5 per cent in 2014. Japan releases gross domestic product (GDP) data on May 20, which will give a clearer read on the state of the economy and whether the government will proceed with the tax hike as scheduled. The economy likely contracted at an annualised 0.2 per cent in January-March as corporate and consumer spending weakened, a Reuters poll showed.

Japan's coincident index suggests economy may be in recession

China's foreign ministry said on Monday the country will never surrender to foreign pressure after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comments at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The United States escalated a tariff war with China on Friday by hiking levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in the midst of last-ditch talks to rescue a trade deal. Trump had delayed the tariffs as negotiations between Washington and Beijing were progressing.

The trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, has been escalating for over a year.&nbsp;

Both nations have repeatedly slapped billions of dollars worth of retaliatory tariffs on each other's goods as the rivalry between them has soared.

On Friday, Trump issued orders for the tariff increase, saying China "broke the deal" by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-still-cautiously-optimistic-on-us-trade-talks-despite-new-tariffs-217928">China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks</a> in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He had said.

"Negotiations have not broken down," Liu, China's chief negotiator in the talks, said in Washington on Friday, according to state television on Saturday. "Quite the opposite, I think small setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic," Liu said.

Earlier in the day, Trump on Twitter said, "China is "dreaming" that former Vice President Joe Biden or any Democratic candidate will win the 2020 presidential election as they "love ripping off America."&nbsp;

"China is DREAMING that Sleepy Joe Biden, or any of the others, gets elected in 2020. They LOVE ripping off America!" Trump tweeted.

China's foreign ministry said on Monday the country will never surrender to foreign pressure after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute.

China's foreign ministry said on Monday the country will never surrender to foreign pressure after Washington renewed its threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports in an escalating trade dispute. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comments at a daily briefing in Beijing. The United States escalated a tariff war with China on Friday by hiking levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in the midst of last-ditch talks to rescue a trade deal. Trump had delayed the tariffs as negotiations between Washington and Beijing were progressing. The trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, has been escalating for over a year. Both nations have repeatedly slapped billions of dollars worth of retaliatory tariffs on each other's goods as the rivalry between them has soared. On Friday, Trump issued orders for the tariff increase, saying China "broke the deal" by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. Meanwhile, China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He had said. "Negotiations have not broken down," Liu, China's chief negotiator in the talks, said in Washington on Friday, according to state television on Saturday. "Quite the opposite, I think small setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic," Liu said. Earlier in the day, Trump on Twitter said, "China is "dreaming" that former Vice President Joe Biden or any Democratic candidate will win the 2020 presidential election as they "love ripping off America." "China is DREAMING that Sleepy Joe Biden, or any of the others, gets elected in 2020. They LOVE ripping off America!" Trump tweeted.

China says it will never surrender to foreign pressure amid trade dispute

China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He said as US President Donald Trump ordered his trade chief to begin the process of imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

Liu voiced a measured optimism on reaching a deal, but said there were "issues of principle" on which China would not back down.

"Negotiations have not broken down," Liu, China's chief negotiator in the talks, said in Washington on Friday, according to state television on Saturday. "Quite the opposite, I think small setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic," Liu said.

Liu's optimism was tempered by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told CNBC on Friday that there were no further talks with China planned "as of now."

Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he thinks China felt they were being "beaten so badly" in the recent negotiations that they may as well wait for the 2020 presidential election "to see if they could get lucky &amp; have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year."

"The only problem is that they know I am going to win," Trump wrote on Twitter, "... and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!"

The United States escalated a tariff war with China on Friday by hiking levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in the midst of last-ditch talks to rescue a trade deal. Trump had delayed the tariffs as negotiations between Washington and Beijing were progressing.

On Friday, Trump issued orders for the tariff increase, saying China "broke the deal" by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

China strongly opposes the latest US tariff hike, and as a nation, has to respond to that, Liu told a small group of Chinese reporters in the video clip.

"Right now, both sides have reached mutual understanding in many things, but frankly speaking, there are also differences. We think these differences are significant issues of principle," Liu said. "We absolutely cannot make concessions on such issues of principle."

He added that talks would continue in Beijing, but gave no details. Underscoring a lack of progress in the talks, Trump ordered a further escalation of tariffs.

Trump's move would subject about $300 billion worth of Chinese imports to punitive tariffs, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Friday. Lighthizer said a final decision has not been made on the new duties, which would come on top of an early Friday tariff rate increase, to 25% from 10%, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

China's widely-read Global Times newspaper, which while published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper does not speak for the government, said in a Sunday editorial that the United States has "seriously underestimated China's endurance".

"Washington tried to bring up terms that either harmed the sovereignty and dignity of China, or that were seriously unequal and unrealistic. Those requests have made the negotiations more difficult," the paper said.

China details differences

Three differences remain between the two countries, according to China's account of the latest talks.

One of those is over tariffs, Liu said, according to a transcript of the Q&amp;A published by Phoenix, a Hong Kong-based television station that is close to Beijing. China believes that tariffs were the genesis of the trade dispute, and that if both sides wanted to reach an agreement, then all tariffs must be eliminated, Liu said.

The second is about procurement, on which an initial consensus was reached between the leaders of the two countries in Argentina late last year. The two sides now have differing views on the volumes, Liu said. The third is over how balanced the text of the draft agreement should be, he said.

"Every nation has its dignity, so the text ought to be balanced," Liu said.

Sources told Reuters this week that China had deleted its commitments in the draft agreement that said it would change laws to resolve core complaints of the United States: theft of US intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation.

Liu denied the accusations of China's reneging on promises, saying China thought it was normal to make changes before a final deal. Both sides had differing views on how to phrase it, he said.

Liu said he hoped this issue would be resolved, so it was unnecessary to "overreact" to that point. Similar to Liu, Chinese state media said China would not give in on its core interests.

"China clearly requires that the trade procurement figures should be realistic; the text must be balanced and expressed in terms that are acceptable to the Chinese people and do not undermine the sovereignty and dignity of the country," the People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary on Saturday.

The trade war has weighed on the Chinese economy.

When asked about domestic concerns over how the latest tariffs could further pressure the economy, Liu said he was optimistic about China's economy in the longer term, adding that it had entered an up-cycle after bottoming out somewhat last year.

He said he believed the Chinese economy would maintain a stable and healthy trend despite some downward pressure, and that China had ample room for fiscal and monetary policy manoeuvres.

On Monday, hours after Trump said he intended to raise tariffs, the Chinese central bank cut the amount of reserves that some small and medium-sized banks need to hold, freeing up more funds for lending to cash-strapped firms.

China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He said as US President Donald Trump ordered his trade chief to begin the process of imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He said as US President Donald Trump ordered his trade chief to begin the process of imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China. Liu voiced a measured optimism on reaching a deal, but said there were "issues of principle" on which China would not back down. "Negotiations have not broken down," Liu, China's chief negotiator in the talks, said in Washington on Friday, according to state television on Saturday. "Quite the opposite, I think small setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic," Liu said. Liu's optimism was tempered by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told CNBC on Friday that there were no further talks with China planned "as of now." Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he thinks China felt they were being "beaten so badly" in the recent negotiations that they may as well wait for the 2020 presidential election "to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year." "The only problem is that they know I am going to win," Trump wrote on Twitter, "... and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!" The United States escalated a tariff war with China on Friday by hiking levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in the midst of last-ditch talks to rescue a trade deal. Trump had delayed the tariffs as negotiations between Washington and Beijing were progressing. On Friday, Trump issued orders for the tariff increase, saying China "broke the deal" by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. China strongly opposes the latest US tariff hike, and as a nation, has to respond to that, Liu told a small group of Chinese reporters in the video clip. "Right now, both sides have reached mutual understanding in many things, but frankly speaking, there are also differences. We think these differences are significant issues of principle," Liu said. "We absolutely cannot make concessions on such issues of principle." He added that talks would continue in Beijing, but gave no details. Underscoring a lack of progress in the talks, Trump ordered a further escalation of tariffs. Trump's move would subject about $300 billion worth of Chinese imports to punitive tariffs, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Friday. Lighthizer said a final decision has not been made on the new duties, which would come on top of an early Friday tariff rate increase, to 25% from 10%, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China's widely-read Global Times newspaper, which while published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper does not speak for the government, said in a Sunday editorial that the United States has "seriously underestimated China's endurance". "Washington tried to bring up terms that either harmed the sovereignty and dignity of China, or that were seriously unequal and unrealistic. Those requests have made the negotiations more difficult," the paper said. China details differences Three differences remain between the two countries, according to China's account of the latest talks. One of those is over tariffs, Liu said, according to a transcript of the Q&A published by Phoenix, a Hong Kong-based television station that is close to Beijing. China believes that tariffs were the genesis of the trade dispute, and that if both sides wanted to reach an agreement, then all tariffs must be eliminated, Liu said. The second is about procurement, on which an initial consensus was reached between the leaders of the two countries in Argentina late last year. The two sides now have differing views on the volumes, Liu said. The third is over how balanced the text of the draft agreement should be, he said. "Every nation has its dignity, so the text ought to be balanced," Liu said. Sources told Reuters this week that China had deleted its commitments in the draft agreement that said it would change laws to resolve core complaints of the United States: theft of US intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation. Liu denied the accusations of China's reneging on promises, saying China thought it was normal to make changes before a final deal. Both sides had differing views on how to phrase it, he said. Liu said he hoped this issue would be resolved, so it was unnecessary to "overreact" to that point. Similar to Liu, Chinese state media said China would not give in on its core interests. "China clearly requires that the trade procurement figures should be realistic; the text must be balanced and expressed in terms that are acceptable to the Chinese people and do not undermine the sovereignty and dignity of the country," the People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary on Saturday. The trade war has weighed on the Chinese economy. When asked about domestic concerns over how the latest tariffs could further pressure the economy, Liu said he was optimistic about China's economy in the longer term, adding that it had entered an up-cycle after bottoming out somewhat last year. He said he believed the Chinese economy would maintain a stable and healthy trend despite some downward pressure, and that China had ample room for fiscal and monetary policy manoeuvres. On Monday, hours after Trump said he intended to raise tariffs, the Chinese central bank cut the amount of reserves that some small and medium-sized banks need to hold, freeing up more funds for lending to cash-strapped firms.

China still 'cautiously optimistic' on US trade talks despite new tariffs

Already hurt by the US-China trade war, farmers in Nebraska are reeling from this year's devastating floods, which ravaged crops and left little time to plant for the next harvest.

Damage from the March rains in the Midwest is visible across the landscape north of Omaha, the state's biggest city, trees have fallen, growing fields are caked in mud and rivers are at elevated levels.

"Road Closed" signs pop up often in particularly water-logged areas where bridges and dikes were overwhelmed, making neighbourhoods uninhabitable and cutting off public services.

Cows are visible in some pastures but many breeders are still tallying their losses. Some animals died in the floods and others perished after being sickened by bad water.

"I know people who lost a lot of their animals because they were stranded in the floods," said Jim Dinklage, a farmer in Orchard, about three hours from Omaha. "You couldn't have access to them."

Of Nebraska's 93 counties, 81 have declared states of emergency, said Steve Wellman, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

"So 85 per cent of the state of Nebraska has been impacted by either flooding or blizzard conditions from the middle of March," he said.

Damages are estimated at more than $800 million, about $400 million in the livestock industry and $440 million in crops.

Higher costs

Among the 50 states, Nebraska is the third-biggest corn producer and second-biggest ethanol producer.&nbsp;

One out of four jobs is tied to farming, the state's biggest sector.

In Scribner, north of Omaha, Ruth and Sid Ready describe a closing window of opportunity for the season.

Corn is usually planted from mid-April through May, while soybeans are sown through July 1.

"It's not like we've got a lot of alternatives out here. You either get your crop in the spring, or you are out of income for the entire year," said Ruth Ready, adding that the floods shrank this season's usable acreage, threatening the next harvest.

The couple, who also raise cows, estimate the rains will effectively double the costs in the Nebraska farm belt this year.

Clare and Gayle Duda, corn and soy farmers in nearby Ponca Hills, said they were facing a similar situation.

"We planted 300 acres and we were only able to harvest five acres," or just two hectares, said Clare, adding that losses were hard to bear without revenue to make up for the investment in the crop.

Flood waters had pooled in the middle of the Dudas' corn field, splitting it in two and cutting off access to much of the crops, consigning them to ruin.

A church donation paid for antibiotics to treat E.coli infections in their goats, but the bacteria is also now present in mushrooms on the property.

"We should be out planting today but because the river flooded, the soil gets so saturated, so wet, that we can't," said a forlorn Clare.

Growers have fixed costs on land and machinery that do not lessen even if the output is lower. In many cases, farmers already purchased seeds for the season. Plus, transport costs have essentially doubled due to the dismal state of the roads.

But there is a more fundamental hit to the region's economic capacity, with nutrient-rich soil developed over generations suddenly stripped away.

After taking stock of the damage, the Dudas concede the reality of climate change.

"I accept it," Clare said of the warming climate.

Trade war hit

Emergency calls from farmers to a hotline run by Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska have doubled over the last year.

In the wake of the disaster, growers have been granted extensions on credit payments and loans, as well as the possibility in some cases to renegotiate loans at lower interest rates.

The floods came as farm incomes have fallen about 50 per cent since 2013 due to low crop prices, leading to debt levels not seen since the 1980s.

The situation has also been exacerbated by the trade war with China, which has closed off a key consumer market for some growers, particularly for soybeans.

The Ready family sells both soybeans and corn to China. But they are sticking with President Donald Trump.

"It was our products that are most affected by that trade war," Sid Ready said.

"Does that mean that we are all very happy about it because it's costing us?" he added. "No, but we understand it."&nbsp;

"In the long run, we hope it works."

Already hurt by the US-China trade war, farmers in Nebraska are reeling from this year's devastating floods, which ravaged crops and left little time to plant for the next harvest.

Already hurt by the US-China trade war, farmers in Nebraska are reeling from this year's devastating floods, which ravaged crops and left little time to plant for the next harvest. Damage from the March rains in the Midwest is visible across the landscape north of Omaha, the state's biggest city, trees have fallen, growing fields are caked in mud and rivers are at elevated levels. "Road Closed" signs pop up often in particularly water-logged areas where bridges and dikes were overwhelmed, making neighbourhoods uninhabitable and cutting off public services. Cows are visible in some pastures but many breeders are still tallying their losses. Some animals died in the floods and others perished after being sickened by bad water. "I know people who lost a lot of their animals because they were stranded in the floods," said Jim Dinklage, a farmer in Orchard, about three hours from Omaha. "You couldn't have access to them." Of Nebraska's 93 counties, 81 have declared states of emergency, said Steve Wellman, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. "So 85 per cent of the state of Nebraska has been impacted by either flooding or blizzard conditions from the middle of March," he said. Damages are estimated at more than $800 million, about $400 million in the livestock industry and $440 million in crops. Higher costs Among the 50 states, Nebraska is the third-biggest corn producer and second-biggest ethanol producer. One out of four jobs is tied to farming, the state's biggest sector. In Scribner, north of Omaha, Ruth and Sid Ready describe a closing window of opportunity for the season. Corn is usually planted from mid-April through May, while soybeans are sown through July 1. "It's not like we've got a lot of alternatives out here. You either get your crop in the spring, or you are out of income for the entire year," said Ruth Ready, adding that the floods shrank this season's usable acreage, threatening the next harvest. The couple, who also raise cows, estimate the rains will effectively double the costs in the Nebraska farm belt this year. Clare and Gayle Duda, corn and soy farmers in nearby Ponca Hills, said they were facing a similar situation. "We planted 300 acres and we were only able to harvest five acres," or just two hectares, said Clare, adding that losses were hard to bear without revenue to make up for the investment in the crop. Flood waters had pooled in the middle of the Dudas' corn field, splitting it in two and cutting off access to much of the crops, consigning them to ruin. A church donation paid for antibiotics to treat E.coli infections in their goats, but the bacteria is also now present in mushrooms on the property. "We should be out planting today but because the river flooded, the soil gets so saturated, so wet, that we can't," said a forlorn Clare. Growers have fixed costs on land and machinery that do not lessen even if the output is lower. In many cases, farmers already purchased seeds for the season. Plus, transport costs have essentially doubled due to the dismal state of the roads. But there is a more fundamental hit to the region's economic capacity, with nutrient-rich soil developed over generations suddenly stripped away. After taking stock of the damage, the Dudas concede the reality of climate change. "I accept it," Clare said of the warming climate. Trade war hit Emergency calls from farmers to a hotline run by Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska have doubled over the last year. In the wake of the disaster, growers have been granted extensions on credit payments and loans, as well as the possibility in some cases to renegotiate loans at lower interest rates. The floods came as farm incomes have fallen about 50 per cent since 2013 due to low crop prices, leading to debt levels not seen since the 1980s. The situation has also been exacerbated by the trade war with China, which has closed off a key consumer market for some growers, particularly for soybeans. The Ready family sells both soybeans and corn to China. But they are sticking with President Donald Trump. "It was our products that are most affected by that trade war," Sid Ready said. "Does that mean that we are all very happy about it because it's costing us?" he added. "No, but we understand it." "In the long run, we hope it works."

Amid trade war, floods compound Nebraska farmers' woes

President Donald Trump warned China on Saturday that it should strike a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-outlines-three-disagreements-in-us-trade-talks-217667">trade deal with the United States</a> now, otherwise an agreement would be "far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term."

Washington and Beijing are locked in a trade battle that has seen mounting tariffs, sparking fears the dispute will damage the global economy.

Two days of talks ended Friday with no deal. China's top negotiator said the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-says-to-hold-more-trade-talks-with-us-in-beijing-217628">two sides would meet again in Beijing</a> at an unspecified date, but warned that China would make no concessions on "important principles."

"I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky &amp; have a Democrat win -- in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year," Trump said in a tweet Saturday.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky &amp; have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1127337211777757191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy &amp; employment numbers in US&nbsp;history, &amp; much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!"

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....The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy &amp; employment numbers in U.S. history, &amp; much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1127337212813742082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Trump had accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments in trade talks and ordered new punitive duties, which took effect Friday, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, raising them to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.&nbsp;

He then cranked up the heat further, ordering a tariff hike on almost all remaining imports -- $300 billion worth, according to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer -- from the world's second-biggest economy.

Those tariffs would not take effect for months, after a period of public comment.

Trump also said Saturday that firms could easily avoid additional costs by producing goods in the United States.&nbsp;

"Such an easy way to avoid Tariffs? Make or produce your goods and products in the good old USA. It's very simple!" he tweeted, echoing a similar message he sent Friday -- and even retweeted.

Only a week earlier, the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-officials-says-china-trade-talks-constructive-217600">United States and China had seemed poised</a> to complete a sweeping agreement.

Washington wants Beijing to tighten its intellectual property protections, cut its subsidies to state-owned firms and reduce the yawning trade deficit; China wants an end to tariffs as part of a "balanced" deal.

While supporters laud Trump as a tough negotiator, free-trade-minded Republicans have warned that the tariffs could do real damage to the economy, and many farmers -- including Trump supporters -- say the tariffs have hit their bottom line.&nbsp;

As the trade war spread, China imposed $110 billion in duties on farm exports and other US goods.&nbsp;

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, from the farm state of Iowa, cautiously welcomed the new tariffs but urged negotiators to reach a quick solution "so we can avoid prolonged tariffs, which we know have an impact on the US economy."

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&nbsp;

President Donald Trump warned China on Saturday that it should strike a trade deal with the United States now, otherwise an agreement would be "far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term.

President Donald Trump warned China on Saturday that it should strike a trade deal with the United States now, otherwise an agreement would be "far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term." Washington and Beijing are locked in a trade battle that has seen mounting tariffs, sparking fears the dispute will damage the global economy. Two days of talks ended Friday with no deal. China's top negotiator said the two sides would meet again in Beijing at an unspecified date, but warned that China would make no concessions on "important principles." "I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win -- in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year," Trump said in a tweet Saturday. I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2019 × "The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy & employment numbers in US history, & much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!" ....The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy & employment numbers in U.S. history, & much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2019 × Trump had accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments in trade talks and ordered new punitive duties, which took effect Friday, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, raising them to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. He then cranked up the heat further, ordering a tariff hike on almost all remaining imports -- $300 billion worth, according to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer -- from the world's second-biggest economy. Those tariffs would not take effect for months, after a period of public comment. Trump also said Saturday that firms could easily avoid additional costs by producing goods in the United States. "Such an easy way to avoid Tariffs? Make or produce your goods and products in the good old USA. It's very simple!" he tweeted, echoing a similar message he sent Friday -- and even retweeted. Only a week earlier, the United States and China had seemed poised to complete a sweeping agreement. Washington wants Beijing to tighten its intellectual property protections, cut its subsidies to state-owned firms and reduce the yawning trade deficit; China wants an end to tariffs as part of a "balanced" deal. While supporters laud Trump as a tough negotiator, free-trade-minded Republicans have warned that the tariffs could do real damage to the economy, and many farmers -- including Trump supporters -- say the tariffs have hit their bottom line. As the trade war spread, China imposed $110 billion in duties on farm exports and other US goods. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, from the farm state of Iowa, cautiously welcomed the new tariffs but urged negotiators to reach a quick solution "so we can avoid prolonged tariffs, which we know have an impact on the US economy." ×

Trade deal will become far worse if negotiated in my second term: Donald Trump warns China

Will A Potential Trade War Hurt The U.S. More Or China More? A trade war will hurt supply chains, financial markets and as a consequence the global economy. Palki sums up the latest on the ongoing trade dispute between China and the U.S and explains why a trade war is akin to the U.S. shooting the global economy on the boot and asking it to run a marathon

Gravitas: Is a U.S-China trade war around the corner?

China's top trade negotiator Liu He said on Friday in Washington that<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-officials-says-china-trade-talks-constructive-217600"> trade talks with the US</a> would continue in Beijing but warned that there would be no concessions on "important principles".

"Negotiations have not broken down, but rather on the contrary, this is only a normal twist in the negotiations between the two countries, it is inevitable," Liu told Chinese media.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/top-facts-how-us-china-talks-differ-from-any-other-trade-deal-217563">In pics: How US-China talks differ from any other trade deal</a>

"Both sides agree they will meet again in Beijing in the future and keep pushing forward the negotiations," he said without giving a date.

Although Liu deemed the two days of talks in the US "productive" he said differences continued to exist.

"We have a consensus in lots of areas but to speak frankly there are areas we have differences on, and we believe these concern big principles," he said.

"Every country has important principles, and we will not make concessions on matters of principle."

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier, talks to end a worrisome&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/top-facts-how-us-china-talks-differ-from-any-other-trade-deal-217563">US-China trade battle</a>&nbsp;were "constructive," giving a sign of hope that Washington and Beijing could seal a deal to avert damage to the global economy.

"They were constructive discussions between both parties, that's all we're going to say," Mnuchin was quoted as saying by CNBC following a two-hour negotiating session.

President Donald&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tariffs-will-bring-in-far-more-wealth-to-our-country-than-even-phenomenal-deal-of-traditional-kind-donald-trump-217507">Trump said Friday he was in no hurry to reach a deal with Beijing</a>, arguing the United States was negotiating from a position of strength.

Just hours earlier, Washington had pulled the trigger on an increase in punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent, and Beijing responded vowing to take the "necessary countermeasures."

China's top trade negotiator Liu He said on Friday in Washington that trade talks with the US would continue in Beijing but warned that there would be no concessions on "important principles".

China's top trade negotiator Liu He said on Friday in Washington that trade talks with the US would continue in Beijing but warned that there would be no concessions on "important principles". "Negotiations have not broken down, but rather on the contrary, this is only a normal twist in the negotiations between the two countries, it is inevitable," Liu told Chinese media. In pics: How US-China talks differ from any other trade deal "Both sides agree they will meet again in Beijing in the future and keep pushing forward the negotiations," he said without giving a date. Although Liu deemed the two days of talks in the US "productive" he said differences continued to exist. "We have a consensus in lots of areas but to speak frankly there are areas we have differences on, and we believe these concern big principles," he said. "Every country has important principles, and we will not make concessions on matters of principle." US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier, talks to end a worrisome US-China trade battle were "constructive," giving a sign of hope that Washington and Beijing could seal a deal to avert damage to the global economy. "They were constructive discussions between both parties, that's all we're going to say," Mnuchin was quoted as saying by CNBC following a two-hour negotiating session. President Donald Trump said Friday he was in no hurry to reach a deal with Beijing, arguing the United States was negotiating from a position of strength. Just hours earlier, Washington had pulled the trigger on an increase in punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent, and Beijing responded vowing to take the "necessary countermeasures."

China says it will hold more trade talks with US in Beijing

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 200 points and the NSE Nifty dropped below the 11,300 marks in early trade Thursday tracking weak cues from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/wall-street-falls-as-investors-cautious-on-trade-intel-slides-217142">global markets</a> as US-China trade tiff continued to roil investor sentiment.

Ahead of the crucial 11th round of talks aimed at ending the trade war between the world's two largest economies, scheduled for May 9-10 in Washington, China has said it will retaliate if the US raises tariffs on Chinese products.

The comments come after US President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods earlier this week.&nbsp;

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading significantly lower in early trade.

Following suit, the 30-share index was trading 212.08 points, or 0.56 per cent, lower at 37,577.05.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was down 63.15 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 11,296.30.

Among the top losers in the early session were RIL, NTPC, PowerGrid, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance and HDFC twins, falling up to 2.60 per cent.

On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, L&amp;T and Maruti rose up to 1.44 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE bourse plunged 487.50 points, or 1.27 per cent, to end at 37,789.13; while the broader Nifty sank 138.45 points, or 1,20 per cent, to 11,359.45.

Investor sentiment remained weak amid rising tension between the US and China, traders said, adding that sustained foreign fund outflow to the dampened market mood here.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equity worth Rs 701.50 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares to the tune of Rs 232.95 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

According to Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, the market is expected to remain volatile till any clarity emerges on the progress in US-China trade war and the election results in India.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 16 paise to 69.87 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.75 per cent lower at $69.84 per barrel.

On Wall Street, S&amp;P500 and Nasdaq Composite indices ended lower on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 200 points and the NSE Nifty dropped below the 11,300 marks in early trade Thursday tracking weak cues from global markets as US-China trade tiff continued to roil investor sentiment.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 200 points and the NSE Nifty dropped below the 11,300 marks in early trade Thursday tracking weak cues from global markets as US-China trade tiff continued to roil investor sentiment. Ahead of the crucial 11th round of talks aimed at ending the trade war between the world's two largest economies, scheduled for May 9-10 in Washington, China has said it will retaliate if the US raises tariffs on Chinese products. The comments come after US President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods earlier this week. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading significantly lower in early trade. Following suit, the 30-share index was trading 212.08 points, or 0.56 per cent, lower at 37,577.05. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was down 63.15 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 11,296.30. Among the top losers in the early session were RIL, NTPC, PowerGrid, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance and HDFC twins, falling up to 2.60 per cent. On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, L&T and Maruti rose up to 1.44 per cent. In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE bourse plunged 487.50 points, or 1.27 per cent, to end at 37,789.13; while the broader Nifty sank 138.45 points, or 1,20 per cent, to 11,359.45. Investor sentiment remained weak amid rising tension between the US and China, traders said, adding that sustained foreign fund outflow to the dampened market mood here. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equity worth Rs 701.50 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares to the tune of Rs 232.95 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. According to Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, the market is expected to remain volatile till any clarity emerges on the progress in US-China trade war and the election results in India. On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 16 paise to 69.87 against the US dollar. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.75 per cent lower at $69.84 per barrel. On Wall Street, S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite indices ended lower on Wednesday.

Sensex falls over 200 points as US-China tensions roil global markets

China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off US tariff hikes set to be triggered on Friday.

The two sides had appeared to be converging on a deal until last weekend, when US President Donald Trump announced his intention to raise tariffs with his negotiators saying that China was backtracking on earlier commitments.

"The US side has given many labels recently, 'backtracking', 'betraying' etc...China sets great store on trustworthiness and keeps its promises, and this has never changed," Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday.

Gao told reporters in Beijing that it was normal for both sides to have disagreements during the negotiating process.

Trump told supporters at a rally in Florida on Wednesday that China "broke the deal", and vowed not to back down on imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports unless Beijing "stops cheating our workers".

A protracted trade war between the world's two largest economies would damage global economic growth, and investors pulled their money out of stock markets this week amid fears of the prospective agreement unravelling.

Gao said the decision to send the delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to Washington despite the tariff threat demonstrated China's "utmost sincerity".

"We hope the US&nbsp;can meet China halfway, take care of each others' concerns, and resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultations," he said.

Gao urged the United States to eschew unilateral action, while warning China was fully prepared to defend its interests.

"China's attitude has been consistent and China will not succumb to any pressure. China has made preparations to respond to all kinds of possible outcomes." He did not elaborate.

US government and private sector sources previously told that a draft trade agreement was riddled with reversals by China that undermined core US&nbsp;demands.

In each of the seven chapters of the draft, China had deleted its commitments to change laws to resolve core complaints that caused the United States to launch a trade war: Theft of US&nbsp;intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation.

The stripping of binding legal language from the draft struck directly at the highest priority of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer - who views changes to Chinese laws as essential to verifying compliance after years of what US&nbsp;officials have called empty reform promises.

US tariffs&nbsp;

Lighthizer's office said tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods would rise to 25 per cent from 10 per cent at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Friday, during the discussions in Washington.

The tariffs would target chemicals, building materials, furniture and some consumer electronics among other goods.

Trump also threatened on Sunday to levy tariffs on an additional $325 billion of China's goods, on top of the $250 billion of its products already hit by import taxes.

Since July last year, China has cumulatively imposed countertariffs of up to 25 per cent on about $110 billion of U.S. products. It last levied tariffs, of 5 per cent to 10 per cent, on $60 billion of U.S. goods including liquefied natural gas and small aircraft in September.

Based on the 2018 US Census Bureau trade data, China would only have about $10 billion in US imports left to levy in retaliation for any future US tariffs, including crude oil and large aircraft.

Gao did not answer directly when asked if China would consider imposing tariffs on imported US services.

While the United States wants to reduce the scale of its trade deficit with China, it is also seeking stronger protection for American intellectual property and more market access in China for US companies.

Gao described accusations about Chinese firms stealing tech secrets as unreasonable and said they were not based on facts.

Strong mentality&nbsp;

Chinese state media on Thursday published and aired reports quoting U.S.-based organisations and individuals critical of Trump's decision to raise tariffs, though playing down the impact of higher US tariffs on the Chinese economy.

"China is well-prepared for an escalation in trade tensions. A variety of plans are in place, such as countermeasures for any tariff rise, and favourable policies to minimise losses for Chinese enterprises," the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, said in an editorial.

"Mentally and materially, China is much better prepared than its US counterpart."

The country's share markets have taken a battering due to the renewed trade tensions, however.

China's blue-chip CSI300 index has slumped about 7 per cent so far in May while in the United States, the benchmark S&amp;P 500 index has only declined about 2 per cent.

The Chinese yuan has also weakened to a four-month low, crossing the 6.80 per dollar level.

Economic impact

While China's overall economic growth has remained steady so far this year, the outlook for exporters has been challenging.

Exports unexpectedly declined in April, with some analysts attributing the drop to slumping shipments to the United States.

US-bound shipments fell more than 13 per cent last month, according to official data released this week.

But imports from the United States declined by even more - almost 26 per cent, widening China's trade surplus with the United States.

The US Commerce Department said on Thursday the politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China fell 16.2 per cent to $20.7 billion, the lowest level since March 2014, also as imports from the world's No. 2 economy fell 6.1 per cent. Exports to China jumped 23.6 per cent in March.

"For months, US companies and agricultural producers and their respective trade associations have desperately urged the two sides to come to some kind of trade agreement that would prevent the further use of tariffs by both countries, fearing such a scenario would cripple their already-damaged bilateral trading relationship," said Nelson Dong, senior partner at international law firm Dorsey &amp; Whitney.

"However, those urgent pleas seem to have been ignored. Once again, the two countries, and indeed, the entire world's economy will be forced into a crisis mode that will likely inflict enormous losses on many individual companies and many thousands of workers and farmers in both countries."

China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off US tariff hikes set to be triggered on Friday.

China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off US tariff hikes set to be triggered on Friday. The two sides had appeared to be converging on a deal until last weekend, when US President Donald Trump announced his intention to raise tariffs with his negotiators saying that China was backtracking on earlier commitments. "The US side has given many labels recently, 'backtracking', 'betraying' etc...China sets great store on trustworthiness and keeps its promises, and this has never changed," Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday. Gao told reporters in Beijing that it was normal for both sides to have disagreements during the negotiating process. Trump told supporters at a rally in Florida on Wednesday that China "broke the deal", and vowed not to back down on imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports unless Beijing "stops cheating our workers". A protracted trade war between the world's two largest economies would damage global economic growth, and investors pulled their money out of stock markets this week amid fears of the prospective agreement unravelling. Gao said the decision to send the delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to Washington despite the tariff threat demonstrated China's "utmost sincerity". "We hope the US can meet China halfway, take care of each others' concerns, and resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultations," he said. Gao urged the United States to eschew unilateral action, while warning China was fully prepared to defend its interests. "China's attitude has been consistent and China will not succumb to any pressure. China has made preparations to respond to all kinds of possible outcomes." He did not elaborate. US government and private sector sources previously told that a draft trade agreement was riddled with reversals by China that undermined core US demands. In each of the seven chapters of the draft, China had deleted its commitments to change laws to resolve core complaints that caused the United States to launch a trade war: Theft of US intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation. The stripping of binding legal language from the draft struck directly at the highest priority of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer - who views changes to Chinese laws as essential to verifying compliance after years of what US officials have called empty reform promises. US tariffs Lighthizer's office said tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods would rise to 25 per cent from 10 per cent at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Friday, during the discussions in Washington. The tariffs would target chemicals, building materials, furniture and some consumer electronics among other goods. Trump also threatened on Sunday to levy tariffs on an additional $325 billion of China's goods, on top of the $250 billion of its products already hit by import taxes. Since July last year, China has cumulatively imposed countertariffs of up to 25 per cent on about $110 billion of U.S. products. It last levied tariffs, of 5 per cent to 10 per cent, on $60 billion of U.S. goods including liquefied natural gas and small aircraft in September. Based on the 2018 US Census Bureau trade data, China would only have about $10 billion in US imports left to levy in retaliation for any future US tariffs, including crude oil and large aircraft. Gao did not answer directly when asked if China would consider imposing tariffs on imported US services. While the United States wants to reduce the scale of its trade deficit with China, it is also seeking stronger protection for American intellectual property and more market access in China for US companies. Gao described accusations about Chinese firms stealing tech secrets as unreasonable and said they were not based on facts. Strong mentality Chinese state media on Thursday published and aired reports quoting U.S.-based organisations and individuals critical of Trump's decision to raise tariffs, though playing down the impact of higher US tariffs on the Chinese economy. "China is well-prepared for an escalation in trade tensions. A variety of plans are in place, such as countermeasures for any tariff rise, and favourable policies to minimise losses for Chinese enterprises," the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, said in an editorial. "Mentally and materially, China is much better prepared than its US counterpart." The country's share markets have taken a battering due to the renewed trade tensions, however. China's blue-chip CSI300 index has slumped about 7 per cent so far in May while in the United States, the benchmark S&P 500 index has only declined about 2 per cent. The Chinese yuan has also weakened to a four-month low, crossing the 6.80 per dollar level. Economic impact While China's overall economic growth has remained steady so far this year, the outlook for exporters has been challenging. Exports unexpectedly declined in April, with some analysts attributing the drop to slumping shipments to the United States. US-bound shipments fell more than 13 per cent last month, according to official data released this week. But imports from the United States declined by even more - almost 26 per cent, widening China's trade surplus with the United States. The US Commerce Department said on Thursday the politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China fell 16.2 per cent to $20.7 billion, the lowest level since March 2014, also as imports from the world's No. 2 economy fell 6.1 per cent. Exports to China jumped 23.6 per cent in March. "For months, US companies and agricultural producers and their respective trade associations have desperately urged the two sides to come to some kind of trade agreement that would prevent the further use of tariffs by both countries, fearing such a scenario would cripple their already-damaged bilateral trading relationship," said Nelson Dong, senior partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney. "However, those urgent pleas seem to have been ignored. Once again, the two countries, and indeed, the entire world's economy will be forced into a crisis mode that will likely inflict enormous losses on many individual companies and many thousands of workers and farmers in both countries."

As tariff hike looms, China asks US to meet it halfway, denies backtracking

On Sunday, President Trump tweeted a surprising announcement that he would order tariffs be increased from 10% to %25 on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. President Trump also threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports (another $325 billion or so).

No end to US-China trade war

Oil prices stabilised on Wednesday as markets remained relatively tight amid <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/wall-street-stocks-tumble-over-us-china-trade-war-fears-dow-nasdaq-bleed-216870">US sanctions on crude </a>exporters Iran and Venezuela.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.56 per barrel at 0057 GMT on Wednesday, 17 cents, or 0.3 per cent, above their last settlement.

Brent <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/international-oil-prices-dip-over-china-us-trade-dispute-iran-sanctions-216564">crude oil futures </a>were at $69.94 per barrel, 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, above their last close.

With US&nbsp;sanctions on Iran and Venezuela in place, analysts said global oil markets remained tight.

"The tight and price-supportive fundamental outlook has not gone away," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark's Saxo Bank.

The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November last year, demanding all countries stop importing oil from the country.

Iran has said it will defy the sanctions and continue to export oil.

Most analysts expect its crude export to fall to little more than 500,000 barrels per day, down from around 1 million bpd in April, as governments largely bow to American pressure.

Washington has also slapped sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports, further disrupting crude supply.

Wednesday's firmer prices partly reversed bigger price falls earlier in the week, which were triggered by announcements from Washington that the United States would this Friday further hike import tariffs on Chinese goods.

"Intensifying trade tensions are raising question on ... oil demand prospects," ANZ bank said on Wednesday.

Oil prices stabilised on Wednesday as markets remained relatively tight amid US sanctions on crude exporters Iran and Venezuela. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.

Oil prices stabilised on Wednesday as markets remained relatively tight amid US sanctions on crude exporters Iran and Venezuela. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.56 per barrel at 0057 GMT on Wednesday, 17 cents, or 0.3 per cent, above their last settlement. Brent crude oil futures were at $69.94 per barrel, 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, above their last close. With US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela in place, analysts said global oil markets remained tight. "The tight and price-supportive fundamental outlook has not gone away," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark's Saxo Bank. The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November last year, demanding all countries stop importing oil from the country. Iran has said it will defy the sanctions and continue to export oil. Most analysts expect its crude export to fall to little more than 500,000 barrels per day, down from around 1 million bpd in April, as governments largely bow to American pressure. Washington has also slapped sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports, further disrupting crude supply. Wednesday's firmer prices partly reversed bigger price falls earlier in the week, which were triggered by announcements from Washington that the United States would this Friday further hike import tariffs on Chinese goods. "Intensifying trade tensions are raising question on ... oil demand prospects," ANZ bank said on Wednesday.

International oil prices remain tight amid US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela

Wall Street stocks tumbled amid renewed trade war fears on Tuesday, joining other leading bourses in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/wall-street-falls-as-white-house-plans-to-raise-china-tariffs-216536">selling off amid signs</a> Washington and Beijing are moving further from an agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8 per cent to 25,965.09. The broad-based S&amp;P 500 shed 1.7 per cent to 2,884.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.0 per cent to 7,963.76.

Hopes the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinas-top-trade-negotiator-to-visit-us-despite-tariffs-216689">United States and China can seal a trade</a> deal took a hit over the weekend when President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports as of Friday.

Beijing has decided to proceed with key trade talks later this week but the White House now says US duties on $200 billion in Chinese merchandise will more than double on Friday.

Investors have generally viewed the Trump threats as a bargaining tactic. Still, Tuesday's pullback suggested some fear the latest back-and-forth could pose a more serious obstacle.

"The new tariffs have caught the market off guard," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist of Prudential Financial.

"The question becomes, What will the Chinese do?" Industrials were a hard-hit sector, with Caterpillar, United Technologies and 3M all losing more than 2.0 per cent.

Technology companies also fell, with Apple, Microsoft and Facebook all losing more than two per cent. Among individual companies, drug maker Mylan plunged 23.8 per cent after reporting disappointing first-quarter sales and skepticism over some of the company's forecasts.

Wall Street stocks tumbled amid renewed trade war fears on Tuesday, joining other leading bourses in selling off amid signs Washington and Beijing are moving further from an agreement.

Wall Street stocks tumbled amid renewed trade war fears on Tuesday, joining other leading bourses in selling off amid signs Washington and Beijing are moving further from an agreement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8 per cent to 25,965.09. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.7 per cent to 2,884.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.0 per cent to 7,963.76. Hopes the United States and China can seal a trade deal took a hit over the weekend when President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports as of Friday. Beijing has decided to proceed with key trade talks later this week but the White House now says US duties on $200 billion in Chinese merchandise will more than double on Friday. Investors have generally viewed the Trump threats as a bargaining tactic. Still, Tuesday's pullback suggested some fear the latest back-and-forth could pose a more serious obstacle. "The new tariffs have caught the market off guard," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist of Prudential Financial. "The question becomes, What will the Chinese do?" Industrials were a hard-hit sector, with Caterpillar, United Technologies and 3M all losing more than 2.0 per cent. Technology companies also fell, with Apple, Microsoft and Facebook all losing more than two per cent. Among individual companies, drug maker Mylan plunged 23.8 per cent after reporting disappointing first-quarter sales and skepticism over some of the company's forecasts.

Wall Street stocks tumble over US-China trade war fears; Dow, Nasdaq bleed

By Charles Hankla 
 
Last week President Donald Trump seemed to be on the cusp of a trade deal with China. A couple of threatening tweets later, the odds of ending the 16-month-old US-China trade war have dropped dramatically.

Whether or not American and Chinese trade negotiators ultimately salvage a deal – the US says China backpedaled on a commitment and intends to raise tariffs within days – the episode highlights drawbacks in Trump’s trade strategy, which tends to be protectionist, confrontational and negotiated one on one.

Unfortunately, Trump’s policies are only an acceleration of a trend in international trade that’s been going on for several decades. It’s a move away from multilateralism – in which many countries agree on certain trading principles – and toward bilateralism – which pits nation against nation, raising the stakes.

I am a specialist in the politics of trade. My observations lead me to believe that the increasing abandonment of multilateralism will have pernicious long-term consequences. Not only will trade become more costly for businesses and consumers, it may even make the planet a more dangerous place.

World trade – Trump style

Before we can understand what has changed, we need to revisit how trade deals have historically been done.

In the decades following World War II, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was the center of gravity for trade negotiations. While that system wasn’t perfect, most of the world’s countries could at least participate, to one degree or another, in hammering out the rules of trade.

This multilateral trading order reached its heyday in 1995, with the creation of the World Trade Organisation. But more recently, the system has weakened. Today, most of the world’s new agreements are struck between only two countries or within a single region.

Trump has shown little appetite for continuing the multilateral negotiations his predecessors were working on. He’s also hammered on regional accords, famously renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement and withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Trump’s clear preference is for bilateral deals where the US can use its market power to force concessions from its negotiating partners. But Trump has added a level of confrontation and antagonism to world trade not known in the postwar era.

For evidence, look no further than his threats to raise tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods if a deal falls through.

In essence, the United States under Trump has begun to see itself as the victim, rather than the guarantor, of the liberal trading order. This new perspective has made American negotiators more willing to extract temporary concessions from trading partners, even when these come at the cost of destabilizing the system as a whole.

Rules upon rules

One pernicious consequence of abandoning multilateralism is the mounting complexity and discriminatory nature of global trading arrangements.

In international trade, the fewer rules there are the better. One real benefit of the WTO system is that the same rules, more or less, apply to everyone.

But the world’s increasing rejection of multilateralism is creating a complex web of trade regulations that are tremendously hard to navigate. The number of preferential trade agreements jumped from just over 50 in 1990 to nearly 300 in 2010.

More deals like these mean that one set of rules is overlaid by more rules that only apply when trading with specific countries in certain goods and services. For this reason, the economist Jagdish Bhagwati has called bilateral deals “termites in the trading system.”

These “termites” and the informational burdens they create have real costs for companies and consumers, whether in Europe, Asia or the United States. And this growing complexity weakens competition by giving certain companies an edge over others based on their national origin, distorting the efficiency of global markets.

In the end, these burdens can discourage smaller companies from engaging in global commerce, make it more expensive for even the largest businesses and drive up the cost of products for consumers.

Trade conflicts

A second drawback to Trump’s approach is that it increases the risk of war, at least over the long term.

As the political economist David Lake has pointed out, one purpose of the trading system that the US helped set up after World War II was to forestall mutually antagonistic trading blocs like the ones built by Adolf Hitler or, earlier, by the European and Japanese colonial powers.

The origins of the two world wars may have been principally political, but there is little doubt that economic conflicts between blocs contributed to the military tensions.

During the postwar era, the multilateral system took a major step toward insulating trade from such international disputes and strategic competition. Outside of relations with the communist bloc, which only later participated in multilateral trade deals, there is ample reason to believe that economic interdependence helped produce the “long peace” of that period.

For this reason, we should all be worried about the wobbly state of the global trading system. Bilateral and regional deals are making it easier for large countries to use trade policy more explicitly as an arm of foreign and military policy.

Modern bilateral deals are not recreating the colonial systems of the past, but they do tend to center on major powers in what some scholars have called a “hub” and “spoke” pattern. The “hub” often enjoys significant influence over the “spoke,” and not just in commercial affairs. China’s overtures to African countries over a free trade deal, for example, are likely linked to its strategic interest in securing access to national resources.

While I’m not suggesting that these deals are likely to trigger a shooting war anytime soon, an increasingly fractured world will gradually reduce interdependence among countries – which can act as a strong incentive to avoid a fight.

If the rising number of bilateral deals become an instrument of security policy, and trade increasingly flows only to strategically friendly countries, we should all prepare for more violent conflict in the future. 
 
(Charles Hankla is Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-one-on-one-approach-to-china-has-dangerous-implications-for-global-trade-and-world-peace-116505">original article)</a>

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
 
&nbsp;

By Charles Hankla Last week President Donald Trump seemed to be on the cusp of a trade deal with China. A couple of threatening tweets later, the odds of ending the 16-month-old US-China trade war have dropped dramatically.

By Charles Hankla Last week President Donald Trump seemed to be on the cusp of a trade deal with China. A couple of threatening tweets later, the odds of ending the 16-month-old US-China trade war have dropped dramatically. Whether or not American and Chinese trade negotiators ultimately salvage a deal – the US says China backpedaled on a commitment and intends to raise tariffs within days – the episode highlights drawbacks in Trump’s trade strategy, which tends to be protectionist, confrontational and negotiated one on one. Unfortunately, Trump’s policies are only an acceleration of a trend in international trade that’s been going on for several decades. It’s a move away from multilateralism – in which many countries agree on certain trading principles – and toward bilateralism – which pits nation against nation, raising the stakes. I am a specialist in the politics of trade. My observations lead me to believe that the increasing abandonment of multilateralism will have pernicious long-term consequences. Not only will trade become more costly for businesses and consumers, it may even make the planet a more dangerous place. World trade – Trump style Before we can understand what has changed, we need to revisit how trade deals have historically been done. In the decades following World War II, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was the center of gravity for trade negotiations. While that system wasn’t perfect, most of the world’s countries could at least participate, to one degree or another, in hammering out the rules of trade. This multilateral trading order reached its heyday in 1995, with the creation of the World Trade Organisation. But more recently, the system has weakened. Today, most of the world’s new agreements are struck between only two countries or within a single region. Trump has shown little appetite for continuing the multilateral negotiations his predecessors were working on. He’s also hammered on regional accords, famously renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement and withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump’s clear preference is for bilateral deals where the US can use its market power to force concessions from its negotiating partners. But Trump has added a level of confrontation and antagonism to world trade not known in the postwar era. For evidence, look no further than his threats to raise tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods if a deal falls through. In essence, the United States under Trump has begun to see itself as the victim, rather than the guarantor, of the liberal trading order. This new perspective has made American negotiators more willing to extract temporary concessions from trading partners, even when these come at the cost of destabilizing the system as a whole. Rules upon rules One pernicious consequence of abandoning multilateralism is the mounting complexity and discriminatory nature of global trading arrangements. In international trade, the fewer rules there are the better. One real benefit of the WTO system is that the same rules, more or less, apply to everyone. But the world’s increasing rejection of multilateralism is creating a complex web of trade regulations that are tremendously hard to navigate. The number of preferential trade agreements jumped from just over 50 in 1990 to nearly 300 in 2010. More deals like these mean that one set of rules is overlaid by more rules that only apply when trading with specific countries in certain goods and services. For this reason, the economist Jagdish Bhagwati has called bilateral deals “termites in the trading system.” These “termites” and the informational burdens they create have real costs for companies and consumers, whether in Europe, Asia or the United States. And this growing complexity weakens competition by giving certain companies an edge over others based on their national origin, distorting the efficiency of global markets. In the end, these burdens can discourage smaller companies from engaging in global commerce, make it more expensive for even the largest businesses and drive up the cost of products for consumers. Trade conflicts A second drawback to Trump’s approach is that it increases the risk of war, at least over the long term. As the political economist David Lake has pointed out, one purpose of the trading system that the US helped set up after World War II was to forestall mutually antagonistic trading blocs like the ones built by Adolf Hitler or, earlier, by the European and Japanese colonial powers. The origins of the two world wars may have been principally political, but there is little doubt that economic conflicts between blocs contributed to the military tensions. During the postwar era, the multilateral system took a major step toward insulating trade from such international disputes and strategic competition. Outside of relations with the communist bloc, which only later participated in multilateral trade deals, there is ample reason to believe that economic interdependence helped produce the “long peace” of that period. For this reason, we should all be worried about the wobbly state of the global trading system. Bilateral and regional deals are making it easier for large countries to use trade policy more explicitly as an arm of foreign and military policy. Modern bilateral deals are not recreating the colonial systems of the past, but they do tend to center on major powers in what some scholars have called a “hub” and “spoke” pattern. The “hub” often enjoys significant influence over the “spoke,” and not just in commercial affairs. China’s overtures to African countries over a free trade deal, for example, are likely linked to its strategic interest in securing access to national resources. While I’m not suggesting that these deals are likely to trigger a shooting war anytime soon, an increasingly fractured world will gradually reduce interdependence among countries – which can act as a strong incentive to avoid a fight. If the rising number of bilateral deals become an instrument of security policy, and trade increasingly flows only to strategically friendly countries, we should all prepare for more violent conflict in the future. (Charles Hankla is Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Donald Trump’s one-on-one approach to China has dangerous implications for global trade

President Donald Trump sent Asian markets plunging Monday after<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-announces-higher-us-tariffs-on-china-goods-216186"> threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods</a> at the end of the week in a bid to speed up stuttering trade talks between the economic superpowers.

Shanghai and Hong Kong equities led big losses across the region, with the Chinese yuan also taking a battering after the president threw a spanner into the high-level negotiations, which many observers were expecting to wrap up imminently.

"For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods," Trump tweeted Sunday night. "The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday."

The warning will throw a shadow over the next round of talks, with a delegation from Beijing due in Washington this week, with Bloomberg News reporting the Chinese side are considering their position.

The two sides have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade since last year. But Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December, helping fan a surge across world stock markets for the past four months.

"Trump has taken the proverbial sledgehammer to the walnut this morning and the only two words likely to be on the minds of traders and investors this week are 'trade talks'," said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

In morning trade Hong Kong tumbled 3.6 per cent and Shanghai was off more than five per cent as investors there returned for the first time since Tuesday.

Singapore was off three per cent and Taipei shed 1.8 per cent, while Sydney and Wellington were each one per cent down.

Manila and Jakarta were also sharply lower. Tokyo and Seoul were closed for holidays.

Yuan tumbles

"It’s making the outcomes more binary, with everybody focused on the Friday deadline," said Joyce Chang, chair of global research at JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co.

"There doesn’t seem to be much leeway now to much go past that. It's going to mean that investors will be very focused on the trade issues even beyond China," she told Bloomberg TV.

The yuan also took hiding, shedding more than 1.3 per cent at one point against the dollar, its heaviest fall in more than three years. The currency had been sitting around 10-month highs on the back of optimism the two sides would sign off on a trade pact.

"Investors will remain bearish on the yuan, as they reprice in trade war risks because the new developments are a reversal of previous positive progress," Ken Cheung, senior foreign-exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank. "The news was unexpected."

The flight to safety saw the dollar surge against higher-yielding, higher-risk units, with South Africa's rand off one per cent, the Mexican peso 0.9 per cent lower and the Australian dollar 0.6 per cent lower.

On oil markets, both main contracts were hammered more than two per cent by worries that a trade war between the world's top two economies could hit demand for the commodity.

Adding to weakness in the sector is the US drive to increase output, which comes as it reports rising stockpiles, which are offsetting unrest in Libya, tensions with Iran and production caps by OPEC and Russia.

However, while trading floors are awash with red, Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management remained positive.

"We do know the president tends to retreat from more aggressive displays, so I am viewing this thinly veiled threat as political posturing or a tactical decision to apply more pressure on China to put through a trade deal that aligns with the best USA economic interest at heart.

"Despite US-China trade talks hitting an apparent impasse based on (the) tweet, I think a deal will be signed shortly."

Trump's outburst overshadowed another blockbuster US jobs report Friday that reinforced the view that the economy is in rude health, while measured wage inflation eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates.

President Donald Trump sent Asian markets plunging Monday after threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods at the end of the week in a bid to speed up stuttering trade talks between the economic superpowers.

President Donald Trump sent Asian markets plunging Monday after threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods at the end of the week in a bid to speed up stuttering trade talks between the economic superpowers. Shanghai and Hong Kong equities led big losses across the region, with the Chinese yuan also taking a battering after the president threw a spanner into the high-level negotiations, which many observers were expecting to wrap up imminently. "For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods," Trump tweeted Sunday night. "The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday." The warning will throw a shadow over the next round of talks, with a delegation from Beijing due in Washington this week, with Bloomberg News reporting the Chinese side are considering their position. The two sides have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade since last year. But Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December, helping fan a surge across world stock markets for the past four months. "Trump has taken the proverbial sledgehammer to the walnut this morning and the only two words likely to be on the minds of traders and investors this week are 'trade talks'," said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley. In morning trade Hong Kong tumbled 3.6 per cent and Shanghai was off more than five per cent as investors there returned for the first time since Tuesday. Singapore was off three per cent and Taipei shed 1.8 per cent, while Sydney and Wellington were each one per cent down. Manila and Jakarta were also sharply lower. Tokyo and Seoul were closed for holidays. Yuan tumbles "It’s making the outcomes more binary, with everybody focused on the Friday deadline," said Joyce Chang, chair of global research at JPMorgan Chase & Co. "There doesn’t seem to be much leeway now to much go past that. It's going to mean that investors will be very focused on the trade issues even beyond China," she told Bloomberg TV. The yuan also took hiding, shedding more than 1.3 per cent at one point against the dollar, its heaviest fall in more than three years. The currency had been sitting around 10-month highs on the back of optimism the two sides would sign off on a trade pact. "Investors will remain bearish on the yuan, as they reprice in trade war risks because the new developments are a reversal of previous positive progress," Ken Cheung, senior foreign-exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank. "The news was unexpected." The flight to safety saw the dollar surge against higher-yielding, higher-risk units, with South Africa's rand off one per cent, the Mexican peso 0.9 per cent lower and the Australian dollar 0.6 per cent lower. On oil markets, both main contracts were hammered more than two per cent by worries that a trade war between the world's top two economies could hit demand for the commodity. Adding to weakness in the sector is the US drive to increase output, which comes as it reports rising stockpiles, which are offsetting unrest in Libya, tensions with Iran and production caps by OPEC and Russia. However, while trading floors are awash with red, Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management remained positive. "We do know the president tends to retreat from more aggressive displays, so I am viewing this thinly veiled threat as political posturing or a tactical decision to apply more pressure on China to put through a trade deal that aligns with the best USA economic interest at heart. "Despite US-China trade talks hitting an apparent impasse based on (the) tweet, I think a deal will be signed shortly." Trump's outburst overshadowed another blockbuster US jobs report Friday that reinforced the view that the economy is in rude health, while measured wage inflation eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates.

Asian markets plunge as Trump threatens to hike China tariffs

China's President Xi Jinping on Friday called for a "fair and friendly" environment for Chinese companies and citizens overseas, as pushback against its tech giants rises and academics find their visas cancelled.

Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising trade war -- which negotiators have been working to resolve -- but there has also been a growing strategic rivalry between the world's two largest economies.&nbsp;

"China's measures to expand opening up are independent choices," Xi told a gathering of 37 world leaders at a summit for his signature Belt and Road Initiative.&nbsp;

"We also hope that all countries in the world will create a good investment environment, treat Chinese enterprises, international students and scholars equally, and provide a fair and friendly environment," he said.

An increasing number of Western countries have moved to block Huawei and its state-backed competitor ZTE from building next-generation 5G networks over fears Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure.&nbsp;

The United States has also started to bar some Chinese academics from the country if they are suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence agencies, the New York Times reported.

It added that thirty Chinese scholars have had their visas cancelled or put under review in the past year.&nbsp;

In accounts published in the state-run Global Times, several Chinese academics said their 10-year visas to the US were cancelled, with officials citing concerns over their links to Chinese intelligence.&nbsp;

"Some Chinese were deliberately targeted when visiting the US and had their baggage searched, but cases of cancelling visas are not common," wrote Jin Canrong, dean of international studies at the elite Renmin University.

Such instances were rare even during the Cold War, he added.&nbsp;

Beijing has apparently hit back in retaliation: China expert Michael Pillsbury, who advises US President Donald Trump on China, said his visa to enter the country for a forum earlier this year was blocked.

Tensions flared between Washington and Beijing last December over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted in the US for violating Iranian sanctions.&nbsp;

She was arrested in Canada on request of the US and is now fighting extradition.

China's President Xi Jinping on Friday called for a "fair and friendly" environment for Chinese companies and citizens overseas, as pushback against its tech giants rises and academics find their visas cancelled.

China's President Xi Jinping on Friday called for a "fair and friendly" environment for Chinese companies and citizens overseas, as pushback against its tech giants rises and academics find their visas cancelled. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising trade war -- which negotiators have been working to resolve -- but there has also been a growing strategic rivalry between the world's two largest economies. "China's measures to expand opening up are independent choices," Xi told a gathering of 37 world leaders at a summit for his signature Belt and Road Initiative. "We also hope that all countries in the world will create a good investment environment, treat Chinese enterprises, international students and scholars equally, and provide a fair and friendly environment," he said. An increasing number of Western countries have moved to block Huawei and its state-backed competitor ZTE from building next-generation 5G networks over fears Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure. The United States has also started to bar some Chinese academics from the country if they are suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence agencies, the New York Times reported. It added that thirty Chinese scholars have had their visas cancelled or put under review in the past year. In accounts published in the state-run Global Times, several Chinese academics said their 10-year visas to the US were cancelled, with officials citing concerns over their links to Chinese intelligence. "Some Chinese were deliberately targeted when visiting the US and had their baggage searched, but cases of cancelling visas are not common," wrote Jin Canrong, dean of international studies at the elite Renmin University. Such instances were rare even during the Cold War, he added. Beijing has apparently hit back in retaliation: China expert Michael Pillsbury, who advises US President Donald Trump on China, said his visa to enter the country for a forum earlier this year was blocked. Tensions flared between Washington and Beijing last December over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted in the US for violating Iranian sanctions. She was arrested in Canada on request of the US and is now fighting extradition.

Xi Jinping asks for 'fair and friendly' treatment for Chinese companies and citizens overseas

After a big slump in auto sale in China, all eyes are now on the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show 2019 to gauge the mood of investors. Questions are raised whether the US-China trade war is to be blamed for the recent slump.

China car market: The road ahead

A new trade war sparked by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-gets-report-that-could-trigger-auto-tariffs-198123">US automotive tariffs</a> has the potential to do much more damage to global economic growth than the US-China trade conflict has done, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Thursday.

Gopinath told Reuters in an interview that such a conflict would affect exports from many more countries and impose retaliatory duties on US goods from numerous trading partners.

"We are concerned about what auto tariffs would do to the global economy at a time when we are more in the recovery phase," Gopinath said on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.

Should trade conflicts spill over into the automotive sector, it would also disrupt larger parts of global manufacturing supply chains, she said.

"So that would actually be far more costly for the world economy than just the US-China trade tensions that we had," said Gopinath, an Indian-born, Harvard University professor.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to levy tariffs of some 25 per cent on imported vehicles and auto parts on national security grounds, invoking a 1962 trade law aimed at safeguarding the Cold War-era military industrial base.

Trump has openly admitted that he is using the threat of auto tariffs to draw trading partners including Japan and the European Union into trade negotiations. But he also has recently threatened to impose car duties on Mexico unless it improves security at the US border.

The Commerce Department has submitted recommendations of its "Section 232" study into whether automotive imports constitute a threat to national security to the White House but has not revealed its contents. Under the Section 232 provision, Trump has until about May 17 to act on any automotive tariff recommendations contained in the report.

Should he impose tariffs, they would hit hard in the second half of 2019, about the time when the IMF is predicting a rebound in global growth due to a pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks.

According to the IMF's World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the growth rebound is set to continue into 2020, but the Fund has warned that the outlook was "precarious" and vulnerable to numerous risks.

Gopinath said the trade was the biggest among these risks, which also include rising corporate and sovereign debt, stresses in some large emerging markets and a chaotic exit of Britain from the European Union.

US-China lift?

But she said that a trade deal between the United States and China had the potential to lift global growth if tariffs on Chinese and US goods are removed. The Fund's latest forecasts assume that 25 per cent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods and 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods remain in place.

US and Chinese negotiators are working to try to complete an agreement.

"If it turned out that all tariffs were lifted between China and the US that were put in place last year, then that would be a positive to the outlook."

She said the impact on growth is highly dependent on the contents of the deal, and a deal that fails to resolve the tensions for the long term could leave a cloud of uncertainty hanging over business investment - a factor that sapped growth in 2018.

"We've been pushing for an early, durable resolution of the trade tensions," she said. "Not something that will be revisited every three or six months."

A new trade war sparked by US automotive tariffs has the potential to do much more damage to global economic growth than the US-China trade conflict has done, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Thursday.

A new trade war sparked by US automotive tariffs has the potential to do much more damage to global economic growth than the US-China trade conflict has done, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Thursday. Gopinath told Reuters in an interview that such a conflict would affect exports from many more countries and impose retaliatory duties on US goods from numerous trading partners. "We are concerned about what auto tariffs would do to the global economy at a time when we are more in the recovery phase," Gopinath said on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. Should trade conflicts spill over into the automotive sector, it would also disrupt larger parts of global manufacturing supply chains, she said. "So that would actually be far more costly for the world economy than just the US-China trade tensions that we had," said Gopinath, an Indian-born, Harvard University professor. US President Donald Trump has threatened to levy tariffs of some 25 per cent on imported vehicles and auto parts on national security grounds, invoking a 1962 trade law aimed at safeguarding the Cold War-era military industrial base. Trump has openly admitted that he is using the threat of auto tariffs to draw trading partners including Japan and the European Union into trade negotiations. But he also has recently threatened to impose car duties on Mexico unless it improves security at the US border. The Commerce Department has submitted recommendations of its "Section 232" study into whether automotive imports constitute a threat to national security to the White House but has not revealed its contents. Under the Section 232 provision, Trump has until about May 17 to act on any automotive tariff recommendations contained in the report. Should he impose tariffs, they would hit hard in the second half of 2019, about the time when the IMF is predicting a rebound in global growth due to a pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks. According to the IMF's World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the growth rebound is set to continue into 2020, but the Fund has warned that the outlook was "precarious" and vulnerable to numerous risks. Gopinath said the trade was the biggest among these risks, which also include rising corporate and sovereign debt, stresses in some large emerging markets and a chaotic exit of Britain from the European Union. US-China lift? But she said that a trade deal between the United States and China had the potential to lift global growth if tariffs on Chinese and US goods are removed. The Fund's latest forecasts assume that 25 per cent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods and 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods remain in place. US and Chinese negotiators are working to try to complete an agreement. "If it turned out that all tariffs were lifted between China and the US that were put in place last year, then that would be a positive to the outlook." She said the impact on growth is highly dependent on the contents of the deal, and a deal that fails to resolve the tensions for the long term could leave a cloud of uncertainty hanging over business investment - a factor that sapped growth in 2018. "We've been pushing for an early, durable resolution of the trade tensions," she said. "Not something that will be revisited every three or six months."

Auto tariff war would hurt more than US-China fight: IMF chief economist

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-china-report-progress-in-beijing-trade-talks-206635">United States and China</a> were a month from a potentially "epic" trade agreement.

But, nine months into the two countries' trade war, the announcement was anti-climactic, as the White House had earlier stoked anticipation that Trump could announce a date for a summit to clinch a final deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Global markets had also rallied in recent days, roused by the hope that an end to the skirmish between the world's two top economies was at last at hand.

"We will probably know over the next four weeks. It may take two weeks after that," Trump told reporters following a meeting with Beijing's trade envoy Liu He.

"It's looking very good."

The talks are due to continue for a third day on Friday. Trump had said as far back as February that a summit could occur within a month.

Despite Trump's rosy gloss on the talks on Thursday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters that major issues were left to be resolved.

Both US and Chinese officials have projected cautious optimism for months, but the last mile is proving to be the hardest, with the two sides reportedly tussling over whether and when Washington should remove the punishing tariffs it imposed last year on Chinese goods.

Trump in early 2018 launched a trade war with China, seeking to slash that country's soaring trade surplus with the United States, end alleged unfair trade practices such as the theft of American technology and China's massive state intervention in markets.&nbsp;

Washington and Beijing since last year have imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, biting into their manufacturing sectors as the world economy slows.

China has floated offers to make sizable purchases of US commodities and taken steps to show it will protect foreign intellectual property.

But Democrats have warned of the temptation to accept a superficial deal that does not extract profound changes to the Chinese industrial policies American officials have long denounced.

Trump reiterated Thursday however that, "if it's not a great deal, we're not doing it."

Chinese state media later carried a report which said<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinas-xi-jinping-calls-for-early-conclusion-of-us-trade-talks-report-208028"> Xi has called for the talks to conclude as soon as possible</a>.

"I hope the two sides of the economic and trade teams will continue to resolve both sides' issues of concern in the spirit of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, and finish negotiations on the China-US economic and trade agreement document as soon as possible," Xinhua quoted Liu as saying, as he conveyed a message from Xi to Trump.

A tariff compromise?

A final sticking point appears to be when and how Washington will agree to lift the steep tariffs it has placed on more than $250 billion in Chinese imports.

Last month, Trump said the tariffs would stay in place for "a substantial period," although whether this would apply to both tranches of goods subjected to the new duties was unclear.

US officials demand that any agreement have teeth and Lighthizer, the US trade representative, has said tariffs offer crucial leverage should Beijing backslide on its commitments.

Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a former US trade official and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said lifting the tariffs too early could encourage criticism from Democrats that he had gone soft in the negotiations.

"The White House response to this drama is to keep the tariffs and only to slowly lower the rate as the Chinese fulfil their commitments," Hufbauer told AFP.

"The Chinese strategy is to have them get rid of it," he said. "My guess is that something in between will be in the compromise."

Analysts say any agreement is likely to include banner announcements that China has agreed to increase purchases of American commodities like soybeans and fuel.

This could perversely serve to give Chinese state enterprises a greater market role while making US exporters more reliant on the Chinese government's purchasing decisions -- both possibly contrary to US objectives and interests.

William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former Commerce Department official for exports, pointed to Beijing's boycott of US soybean exports last year.

American producers could struggle to fill major new orders announced by Beijing, he said.

"The only way they can buy every bean is if we stop selling to everybody else and that puts us in an enormous position of vulnerability," he said.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States and China were a month from a potentially "epic" trade agreement. But, nine months into the two countries' trade war, the announcement was anti-climactic, as the White House had earlier stoked anticipation that Trump could announce a date for a summit to clinch a final deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States and China were a month from a potentially "epic" trade agreement. But, nine months into the two countries' trade war, the announcement was anti-climactic, as the White House had earlier stoked anticipation that Trump could announce a date for a summit to clinch a final deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Global markets had also rallied in recent days, roused by the hope that an end to the skirmish between the world's two top economies was at last at hand. "We will probably know over the next four weeks. It may take two weeks after that," Trump told reporters following a meeting with Beijing's trade envoy Liu He. "It's looking very good." The talks are due to continue for a third day on Friday. Trump had said as far back as February that a summit could occur within a month. Despite Trump's rosy gloss on the talks on Thursday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters that major issues were left to be resolved. Both US and Chinese officials have projected cautious optimism for months, but the last mile is proving to be the hardest, with the two sides reportedly tussling over whether and when Washington should remove the punishing tariffs it imposed last year on Chinese goods. Trump in early 2018 launched a trade war with China, seeking to slash that country's soaring trade surplus with the United States, end alleged unfair trade practices such as the theft of American technology and China's massive state intervention in markets. Washington and Beijing since last year have imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, biting into their manufacturing sectors as the world economy slows. China has floated offers to make sizable purchases of US commodities and taken steps to show it will protect foreign intellectual property. But Democrats have warned of the temptation to accept a superficial deal that does not extract profound changes to the Chinese industrial policies American officials have long denounced. Trump reiterated Thursday however that, "if it's not a great deal, we're not doing it." Chinese state media later carried a report which said Xi has called for the talks to conclude as soon as possible. "I hope the two sides of the economic and trade teams will continue to resolve both sides' issues of concern in the spirit of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, and finish negotiations on the China-US economic and trade agreement document as soon as possible," Xinhua quoted Liu as saying, as he conveyed a message from Xi to Trump. A tariff compromise? A final sticking point appears to be when and how Washington will agree to lift the steep tariffs it has placed on more than $250 billion in Chinese imports. Last month, Trump said the tariffs would stay in place for "a substantial period," although whether this would apply to both tranches of goods subjected to the new duties was unclear. US officials demand that any agreement have teeth and Lighthizer, the US trade representative, has said tariffs offer crucial leverage should Beijing backslide on its commitments. Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a former US trade official and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said lifting the tariffs too early could encourage criticism from Democrats that he had gone soft in the negotiations. "The White House response to this drama is to keep the tariffs and only to slowly lower the rate as the Chinese fulfil their commitments," Hufbauer told AFP. "The Chinese strategy is to have them get rid of it," he said. "My guess is that something in between will be in the compromise." Analysts say any agreement is likely to include banner announcements that China has agreed to increase purchases of American commodities like soybeans and fuel. This could perversely serve to give Chinese state enterprises a greater market role while making US exporters more reliant on the Chinese government's purchasing decisions -- both possibly contrary to US objectives and interests. William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former Commerce Department official for exports, pointed to Beijing's boycott of US soybean exports last year. American producers could struggle to fill major new orders announced by Beijing, he said. "The only way they can buy every bean is if we stop selling to everybody else and that puts us in an enormous position of vulnerability," he said.

Trump gives US-China trade talks another four weeks

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a "great deal" after top US and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing.

Both sides reported progress in the talks and China also approved majority-owned brokerage joint ventures for US bank JP Morgan Chase and Japan's Nomura, a step toward meeting US demands for more access to China's financial services market.

"The trade deal is going very well," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

"It is a very comprehensive, very detailed enlisting of problems that we've had with China over the years," Trump said of the talks. "And it's going to have to be a great deal. If it's not a great deal, we can't do it."

In an earlier statement, the White House said the two sides "continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps," but did not elaborate on the nature of the progress.

The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

China's state news agency Xinhua said the two sides discussed "relevant agreement documents" and made new progress in their talks, but did not elaborate in a brief report.

US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley told in Malvern, Iowa, that he has been told the Trump administration is planning to complete a deal with China by the end of April.

However, Trump administration officials, including White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, have said the negotiations are "not time-dependent" and could take weeks or even months to complete.

"We’ve made great progress on intellectual property, on trade secrets, on their government not forcing our business to give them our technologies and on currency manipulation, among several other things," Grassley said at a farm event.

But the Iowa Republican, whose state has been hit hard by China's retaliation against US tariffs, added that without an effective enforcement mechanism to hold China to its promises, "none of this other stuff matters."

Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports beginning last July in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of its economy to US companies.

Though his blunt-force use of tariffs has angered many, Trump's push to change what are widely viewed as China's market-distorting trade and subsidy practices has drawn broad support.

Lobbyists, company executives and US lawmakers from both parties have urged Trump not to settle simply for Beijing's offers to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a "great deal" after top US and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a "great deal" after top US and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing. Both sides reported progress in the talks and China also approved majority-owned brokerage joint ventures for US bank JP Morgan Chase and Japan's Nomura, a step toward meeting US demands for more access to China's financial services market. "The trade deal is going very well," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "It is a very comprehensive, very detailed enlisting of problems that we've had with China over the years," Trump said of the talks. "And it's going to have to be a great deal. If it's not a great deal, we can't do it." In an earlier statement, the White House said the two sides "continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps," but did not elaborate on the nature of the progress. The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China's state news agency Xinhua said the two sides discussed "relevant agreement documents" and made new progress in their talks, but did not elaborate in a brief report. US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley told in Malvern, Iowa, that he has been told the Trump administration is planning to complete a deal with China by the end of April. However, Trump administration officials, including White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, have said the negotiations are "not time-dependent" and could take weeks or even months to complete. "We’ve made great progress on intellectual property, on trade secrets, on their government not forcing our business to give them our technologies and on currency manipulation, among several other things," Grassley said at a farm event. But the Iowa Republican, whose state has been hit hard by China's retaliation against US tariffs, added that without an effective enforcement mechanism to hold China to its promises, "none of this other stuff matters." Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports beginning last July in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of its economy to US companies. Though his blunt-force use of tariffs has angered many, Trump's push to change what are widely viewed as China's market-distorting trade and subsidy practices has drawn broad support. Lobbyists, company executives and US lawmakers from both parties have urged Trump not to settle simply for Beijing's offers to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap.

US, China report progress in Beijing trade talks

Senior US officials will visit Beijing for a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-team-has-no-plan-to-go-to-china-for-trade-talks-official-202115">new round of trade war talks</a> on March 28-29, followed by a trip to the United States by China's top negotiator in April, the Chinese commerce ministry said Thursday.

The back-to-back trips come as Washington and Beijing battle over the final shape of a trade deal, with American officials demanding profound changes to Chinese industrial policy.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are returning to the Chinese capital next week, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a weekly briefing.

After their visit, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will head to the United States in April to continue the negotiations, Gao said.

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that US tariffs on Chinese imports could remain in place for a "substantial period", dampening hopes that an agreement would see them lifted soon.

Over the last eight months, the United States and China have slapped tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way goods trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries.

On Friday, China's rubber-stamp parliament approved a foreign investment law to strengthen protections for intellectual property -- a central US grievance -- but critics said the bill was rammed through without sufficient time for input from businesses.

The law was adopted barely three months after a first draft was debated, an unusually quick turnaround for the legislature, which meets once a year.

Unilateral tariffs

Beijing has also expressed willingness to increase purchases of American commodities such as energy and soybeans.

But analysts say Chinese officials will be reluctant to accede to demands that could weaken the Communist Party's hold on power -- such as fully exposing state enterprises to market forces.

Trump initially said he expected to seal any final bargain at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month but that deadline has been pushed back as momentum in the talks has slowed.

US negotiators have insisted that any agreement have teeth -- including the ability to impose tariffs unilaterally should China backslide on any commitments to end alleged unfair trade practices.

"We have to make sure that if we do the deal with China, that China lives by the deal," Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday.

He also said the talks with Beijing were "coming along nicely".

Despite Trump's trade wars, the US trade deficit with China last year hit a record, as American consumers drew in foreign-made goods while weakened US sales of agricultural commodities weighed on American exports.

Senior US officials will visit Beijing for a new round of trade war talks on March 28-29, followed by a trip to the United States by China's top negotiator in April, the Chinese commerce ministry said Thursday.

Senior US officials will visit Beijing for a new round of trade war talks on March 28-29, followed by a trip to the United States by China's top negotiator in April, the Chinese commerce ministry said Thursday. The back-to-back trips come as Washington and Beijing battle over the final shape of a trade deal, with American officials demanding profound changes to Chinese industrial policy. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are returning to the Chinese capital next week, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a weekly briefing. After their visit, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will head to the United States in April to continue the negotiations, Gao said. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that US tariffs on Chinese imports could remain in place for a "substantial period", dampening hopes that an agreement would see them lifted soon. Over the last eight months, the United States and China have slapped tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way goods trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries. On Friday, China's rubber-stamp parliament approved a foreign investment law to strengthen protections for intellectual property -- a central US grievance -- but critics said the bill was rammed through without sufficient time for input from businesses. The law was adopted barely three months after a first draft was debated, an unusually quick turnaround for the legislature, which meets once a year. Unilateral tariffs Beijing has also expressed willingness to increase purchases of American commodities such as energy and soybeans. But analysts say Chinese officials will be reluctant to accede to demands that could weaken the Communist Party's hold on power -- such as fully exposing state enterprises to market forces. Trump initially said he expected to seal any final bargain at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month but that deadline has been pushed back as momentum in the talks has slowed. US negotiators have insisted that any agreement have teeth -- including the ability to impose tariffs unilaterally should China backslide on any commitments to end alleged unfair trade practices. "We have to make sure that if we do the deal with China, that China lives by the deal," Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. He also said the talks with Beijing were "coming along nicely". Despite Trump's trade wars, the US trade deficit with China last year hit a record, as American consumers drew in foreign-made goods while weakened US sales of agricultural commodities weighed on American exports.

US trade negotiators to visit China on March 28-29

China and the United States are still working day and night to achieve a trade deal that matches the interests of both sides and the hopes of the world, including eliminating tit-for-tat tariffs, a senior Chinese official said on Saturday.

Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said he was optimistic about negotiations with Washington, but added any trade mechanism achieved must be equal and fair.

The governments of the world's two largest economies have been locked in a tariff battle for months as Washington presses Beijing to address long-standing concerns over Chinese practices and policies around industrial subsidies, technology transfers, market access and intellectual property rights.

Advances in talks drove the White House to indefinitely delay hikes in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that were set to kick in on March 2.

Wang, speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of China's ongoing annual meeting of parliament, said slapping tariffs on each other was bad for workers, farmers, exporters and manufacturers.

"It hurts investor confidence and delays corporate investment decisions," said Wang, who has been deeply involved in the trade talks with the United States.

"Now, the economic and trade teams of the two sides are making full efforts to communicate and negotiate in order to reach an agreement in line with the principles and directions decided by the two heads of states," he added.

"That is to remove all the tariffs imposed on each other so that bilateral trade relations between China and the United States can return to normal."The trade talks have seen senior officials shuttling backwards and forwards between Beijing and Washington.

Giving rare details into the talks, Wang said the two countries had been making extra effort to find areas in common. During the talks Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer enjoyed take out food, he said.

"Vice Premier Liu had a hamburger, and Lighthizer had eggplant and chicken," he added, describing a common Chinese dish.

"Throughout the negotiations, there was coffee and tea, but the two of them did not drink any coffee, did not drink any tea. They both drank hot boiled water. This is to find common ground."

It is unclear when or where senior negotiators from both sides will next meet.

Trump administration officials have not made any new plans to send a team to China for face-to-face trade talks though there is much work left to be done to reach a deal, White House trade adviser Clete Willems said on Friday.

China and the United States are still working day and night to achieve a trade deal that matches the interests of both sides and the hopes of the world, including eliminating tit-for-tat tariffs, a senior Chinese official said on Saturday.

China and the United States are still working day and night to achieve a trade deal that matches the interests of both sides and the hopes of the world, including eliminating tit-for-tat tariffs, a senior Chinese official said on Saturday. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said he was optimistic about negotiations with Washington, but added any trade mechanism achieved must be equal and fair. The governments of the world's two largest economies have been locked in a tariff battle for months as Washington presses Beijing to address long-standing concerns over Chinese practices and policies around industrial subsidies, technology transfers, market access and intellectual property rights. Advances in talks drove the White House to indefinitely delay hikes in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that were set to kick in on March 2. Wang, speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of China's ongoing annual meeting of parliament, said slapping tariffs on each other was bad for workers, farmers, exporters and manufacturers. "It hurts investor confidence and delays corporate investment decisions," said Wang, who has been deeply involved in the trade talks with the United States. "Now, the economic and trade teams of the two sides are making full efforts to communicate and negotiate in order to reach an agreement in line with the principles and directions decided by the two heads of states," he added. "That is to remove all the tariffs imposed on each other so that bilateral trade relations between China and the United States can return to normal."The trade talks have seen senior officials shuttling backwards and forwards between Beijing and Washington. Giving rare details into the talks, Wang said the two countries had been making extra effort to find areas in common. During the talks Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer enjoyed take out food, he said. "Vice Premier Liu had a hamburger, and Lighthizer had eggplant and chicken," he added, describing a common Chinese dish. "Throughout the negotiations, there was coffee and tea, but the two of them did not drink any coffee, did not drink any tea. They both drank hot boiled water. This is to find common ground." It is unclear when or where senior negotiators from both sides will next meet. Trump administration officials have not made any new plans to send a team to China for face-to-face trade talks though there is much work left to be done to reach a deal, White House trade adviser Clete Willems said on Friday.

China says working with US day and night to get trade deal

By James L Anderson

The original March 1 deadline has passed as the United States and China hash out a trade deal amid deadlocked negotiations.

Any US-China trade deal likely falls short compared to what the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could have been.

Within current talks, Donald Trump’s administration is focused on greater access to subsidised Chinese industries and addressing intellectual property theft linked to alleged forced technology transfers to China. All of this has an impact on America’s economic competitiveness in the short term.

But is the US adequately managing long-term Chinese efforts to don the mantle of global leader?

On the third day of his administration in 2017, Trump honoured a campaign promise by withdrawing from the contentious TPP. The historic 12-nation agreement was on track to cover roughly 40 per cent of the global economy.

Democrats and some Republicans in Congress, advocacy groups and some members of the American public flatly opposed the agreement. Concerns about the oversized influence of multinational corporations and the controversial investor-state dispute process was a feature of the public discourse.

Lost opportunity to rein in China?

But America may have missed a window of opportunity to curb China’s rise when it pulled out of the TPP.

Scholars Graham Allison and Kori Schake have grappled over if and how China can replace America as the world’s ranking power. Allison’s recent work, Destined for War, discusses the “windows of opportunity” the US can exploit to slow the pace of the rising power.

If history is any credible guide, the transition from Pax Britannica to Pax Americana may help US policy-makers and the public alike to understand the imperatives that surround China’s rise.

At the turn of the 20th century, America had unprecedented growth, thanks to Alfred Thayer Mahan’s vision of American sea power. And in the early years between the two World Wars, the United States, Great Britain and Japan headlined a global naval arms race.

In 1921, President Warren Harding held the Washington Naval Conference to disarm tensions among the competing navies in the Pacific. The naval powers agreed to discontinue their shipbuilding programmes and capped their naval fleets in the region. America also protected holdings in East Asia from the threat of a rising Japan.

The agreement was a triumph for America. But for Britain, their naval power was now at “eye level” with the United States.

The UK could not challenge the US

An overstretched Britain had neither the political will nor the financial ability to oppose America’s demands, aware that an arms race with the U.S. would likely bankrupt the British economy.

Pax Britannica, a symbol of Britain’s naval dominance, was forced to deliberately accommodate America’s rise. Britain’s reduced Pacific fleet and degraded Anglo-Japanese relations marked a turning point in America’s ascendancy.

It was not the first time Britain missed an opportunity to slow America’s rise. The American Civil War offered the chance, but Britain decided against joining on behalf of the Confederacy due to the issue of slavery. Schake also notes the Venezuela crisis of 1895 marked an early turning point in the leadership transition. This could have also been a window of opportunity.

How does this apply to current US-China relations? The “battleground” remains the same as in 1921; instead, China plans to supplant America to become the global leader.

Barack Obama’s administration crafted the TPP as a geopolitical instrument to halt China’s plans. It presented east and southeast Asian nations with an alternative to China’s coercive diplomacy in the region, such as in the case of Sri Lanka.

Reducing trade barriers had the potential to provide America with greater investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. It could have weakened China’s diplomatic clout while also creating economic incentives for American investment in the area. It exploited a window of opportunity that targeted the source of China’s rise — its economy.

Pulling out of the TPP was not solely a product of the current administration —a Hillary Clinton administration may have withdrawn too. America’s anti-free trade mood reflects the priority of the public and lawmakers, which is to preserve US jobs and sovereignty.

Shifts in global power are afoot

But shifts in global power may be underway with implications beyond what happens on the home front. A tech Cold War is brewing, China’s plans for expansion under the Belt and Road initiative continue and South China Sea claims are an extension of China’s sovereignty.

The rebooted TPP, the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is likely to reduce barriers to trade and increase investment opportunities across Asia and Latin America for its member countries, including Canada.

But the agreement, without US representation, hardly lives up to America’s once-desired aim to create a trade zone in a large swath of East Asia that would isolate China while addressing the global power shifts underway. A renegotiated CPTPP, with American backing, may have even strengthened the Trump administration’s position in its current trade negotiations with the Chinese.

The UK was unable to prevent the last global leadership transition due to missed windows of opportunity and deliberate accommodation. An America that views China’s rise through a short-term bilateral lens runs the risk of accidentally accommodating Chinese efforts to replace America.

Taking advantage of a window of opportunity may be key to curbing the next global leadership transition —and the CPTPP may be the window that America needs before we are forced to accommodate to China’s interests. The US should reconsider joining the pact if it wants any shot at slowing China’s rise.

(James L Anderson is Visiting Fulbright Fellow at Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen's University, Ontario)

(This article was originally published on the Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-u-s-china-trade-deal-does-not-slow-chinas-rise-111971">original article)</a>

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

By James L Anderson The original March 1 deadline has passed as the United States and China hash out a trade deal amid deadlocked negotiations. Any US-China trade deal likely falls short compared to what the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could have been.

By James L Anderson The original March 1 deadline has passed as the United States and China hash out a trade deal amid deadlocked negotiations. Any US-China trade deal likely falls short compared to what the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could have been. Within current talks, Donald Trump’s administration is focused on greater access to subsidised Chinese industries and addressing intellectual property theft linked to alleged forced technology transfers to China. All of this has an impact on America’s economic competitiveness in the short term. But is the US adequately managing long-term Chinese efforts to don the mantle of global leader? On the third day of his administration in 2017, Trump honoured a campaign promise by withdrawing from the contentious TPP. The historic 12-nation agreement was on track to cover roughly 40 per cent of the global economy. Democrats and some Republicans in Congress, advocacy groups and some members of the American public flatly opposed the agreement. Concerns about the oversized influence of multinational corporations and the controversial investor-state dispute process was a feature of the public discourse. Lost opportunity to rein in China? But America may have missed a window of opportunity to curb China’s rise when it pulled out of the TPP. Scholars Graham Allison and Kori Schake have grappled over if and how China can replace America as the world’s ranking power. Allison’s recent work, Destined for War, discusses the “windows of opportunity” the US can exploit to slow the pace of the rising power. If history is any credible guide, the transition from Pax Britannica to Pax Americana may help US policy-makers and the public alike to understand the imperatives that surround China’s rise. At the turn of the 20th century, America had unprecedented growth, thanks to Alfred Thayer Mahan’s vision of American sea power. And in the early years between the two World Wars, the United States, Great Britain and Japan headlined a global naval arms race. In 1921, President Warren Harding held the Washington Naval Conference to disarm tensions among the competing navies in the Pacific. The naval powers agreed to discontinue their shipbuilding programmes and capped their naval fleets in the region. America also protected holdings in East Asia from the threat of a rising Japan. The agreement was a triumph for America. But for Britain, their naval power was now at “eye level” with the United States. The UK could not challenge the US An overstretched Britain had neither the political will nor the financial ability to oppose America’s demands, aware that an arms race with the U.S. would likely bankrupt the British economy. Pax Britannica, a symbol of Britain’s naval dominance, was forced to deliberately accommodate America’s rise. Britain’s reduced Pacific fleet and degraded Anglo-Japanese relations marked a turning point in America’s ascendancy. It was not the first time Britain missed an opportunity to slow America’s rise. The American Civil War offered the chance, but Britain decided against joining on behalf of the Confederacy due to the issue of slavery. Schake also notes the Venezuela crisis of 1895 marked an early turning point in the leadership transition. This could have also been a window of opportunity. How does this apply to current US-China relations? The “battleground” remains the same as in 1921; instead, China plans to supplant America to become the global leader. Barack Obama’s administration crafted the TPP as a geopolitical instrument to halt China’s plans. It presented east and southeast Asian nations with an alternative to China’s coercive diplomacy in the region, such as in the case of Sri Lanka. Reducing trade barriers had the potential to provide America with greater investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. It could have weakened China’s diplomatic clout while also creating economic incentives for American investment in the area. It exploited a window of opportunity that targeted the source of China’s rise — its economy. Pulling out of the TPP was not solely a product of the current administration —a Hillary Clinton administration may have withdrawn too. America’s anti-free trade mood reflects the priority of the public and lawmakers, which is to preserve US jobs and sovereignty. Shifts in global power are afoot But shifts in global power may be underway with implications beyond what happens on the home front. A tech Cold War is brewing, China’s plans for expansion under the Belt and Road initiative continue and South China Sea claims are an extension of China’s sovereignty. The rebooted TPP, the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is likely to reduce barriers to trade and increase investment opportunities across Asia and Latin America for its member countries, including Canada. But the agreement, without US representation, hardly lives up to America’s once-desired aim to create a trade zone in a large swath of East Asia that would isolate China while addressing the global power shifts underway. A renegotiated CPTPP, with American backing, may have even strengthened the Trump administration’s position in its current trade negotiations with the Chinese. The UK was unable to prevent the last global leadership transition due to missed windows of opportunity and deliberate accommodation. An America that views China’s rise through a short-term bilateral lens runs the risk of accidentally accommodating Chinese efforts to replace America. Taking advantage of a window of opportunity may be key to curbing the next global leadership transition —and the CPTPP may be the window that America needs before we are forced to accommodate to China’s interests. The US should reconsider joining the pact if it wants any shot at slowing China’s rise. (James L Anderson is Visiting Fulbright Fellow at Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen's University, Ontario) (This article was originally published on the Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

A US-China trade deal does not slow China’s rise

While there is no such thing as “free trade”, but freer trade, which gained impetus after the second world war has not only raised world output, among other things but raised, also lifted millions out of poverty. Underpinned and promoted by an institutional firmament, especially the World Trade Organisation (WTO), whose precursor was the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT),&nbsp;and what has been termed as the “liberal world order”, the freer trade paradigm is under serious threat. This holds despite US president Donald Trump’s assurances that trade talks between the United States and China were going on well and the March 1 deadline for tariffs might be extended.

The backdrop to the threat to freer trade is a mélange of the 2008 financial crisis, the assumption of Donald Trump to the highest office in the United States, with the concomitant rise of protectionism and mercantilism, or in other words, the primacy of the nation-state over a more open trading and even world order. The paradox here is that the United States, which led and pioneered the liberal economic and political world order and whose support for it was essential, benefited from an open economic order but is now retreating from it. The reasons pertain not to economics but to political economy.

While broad benefits accrue from freer trade, but it has both distributional and other economic consequences in terms of both “winners” and “losers”. This has been poignant in the United States where the distributional consequences of freer trade were acutely and intensely felt by those left behind by the gale of trade. The base brought Trump to power who, in his campaign pledges, promised to unwind the trade bargains and pacts and “make America great again(MAGA). In lieu of his pledges, Trump picked a trade fight with China and also attempted to rejigg trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The result has been a disruption that might feel good to some, but throws a spanner into the works of freer trade.

This insalubrious development is not only ominous but potentially threatens to roll back the stupendous gains made so far throwing into jeopardy human welfare. The question is: can freer trade be salvaged?&nbsp;

Yes. It can and it will perhaps gyrate to a dynamic of its own.&nbsp;

The reasons accrue from the nature of the 21st-century economy which is both a knowledge and a “gig” economy and the widgets, nuts and bolts one too. Trump’s focus till now has been the relocation of manufacturing to the United States. But, the country’s economy and even the global economy in which it is enmeshed has moved on. Profound and staggering developments in the Information, Communications and Technologies (ICTs), automation, robotics and Artificial Intelligence(AI) mean that the name of the game is different, especially in the developed world. This is not to demean the nuts and bolts economy which is and will remain relevant but it will be a complement to changes elsewhere. It is here that the United States, the world’s largest economy, must focus on instead of adopting a protectionist mercantilist paradigm.&nbsp;

The nature of this approach should be to reorient the country’s educational institutions and skill development in tune with the demands and the needs of the 21st century. A political price might have to made here but from a long duree perspective, it is the adoption of this particular approach that would be more sustainable and yield rewards both to the United States and the world, at large.

But, importantly, an important structural complement to the suggested paradigm, should be the creation of safety nets for those who are likely to be left behind by what is a veritable gale of “creative destruction” in the offing. 
 
Cumulatively, a novel approach toward education, skill development and a safety net could lead to a condition that would be win-win and offset the losses from freer trade. There would also ensue global prosperity which could undercut migratory pressures to both the developed world and the United States, in particular.

In the final analysis, freer trade is a blessing that has proved to be a boon for mankind. It would be a sheer travesty if its momentum is derailed, even if temporarily. What is required,&nbsp;at this delicate point in world history, is far-sighted and deft leadership that is both particular and general.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

While there is no such thing as “free trade”, but freer trade, which gained impetus after the second world war has not only raised world output, among other things but raised, also lifted millions out of poverty.

While there is no such thing as “free trade”, but freer trade, which gained impetus after the second world war has not only raised world output, among other things but raised, also lifted millions out of poverty. Underpinned and promoted by an institutional firmament, especially the World Trade Organisation (WTO), whose precursor was the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), and what has been termed as the “liberal world order”, the freer trade paradigm is under serious threat. This holds despite US president Donald Trump’s assurances that trade talks between the United States and China were going on well and the March 1 deadline for tariffs might be extended. The backdrop to the threat to freer trade is a mélange of the 2008 financial crisis, the assumption of Donald Trump to the highest office in the United States, with the concomitant rise of protectionism and mercantilism, or in other words, the primacy of the nation-state over a more open trading and even world order. The paradox here is that the United States, which led and pioneered the liberal economic and political world order and whose support for it was essential, benefited from an open economic order but is now retreating from it. The reasons pertain not to economics but to political economy. While broad benefits accrue from freer trade, but it has both distributional and other economic consequences in terms of both “winners” and “losers”. This has been poignant in the United States where the distributional consequences of freer trade were acutely and intensely felt by those left behind by the gale of trade. The base brought Trump to power who, in his campaign pledges, promised to unwind the trade bargains and pacts and “make America great again(MAGA). In lieu of his pledges, Trump picked a trade fight with China and also attempted to rejigg trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The result has been a disruption that might feel good to some, but throws a spanner into the works of freer trade. This insalubrious development is not only ominous but potentially threatens to roll back the stupendous gains made so far throwing into jeopardy human welfare. The question is: can freer trade be salvaged? Yes. It can and it will perhaps gyrate to a dynamic of its own. The reasons accrue from the nature of the 21st-century economy which is both a knowledge and a “gig” economy and the widgets, nuts and bolts one too. Trump’s focus till now has been the relocation of manufacturing to the United States. But, the country’s economy and even the global economy in which it is enmeshed has moved on. Profound and staggering developments in the Information, Communications and Technologies (ICTs), automation, robotics and Artificial Intelligence(AI) mean that the name of the game is different, especially in the developed world. This is not to demean the nuts and bolts economy which is and will remain relevant but it will be a complement to changes elsewhere. It is here that the United States, the world’s largest economy, must focus on instead of adopting a protectionist mercantilist paradigm. The nature of this approach should be to reorient the country’s educational institutions and skill development in tune with the demands and the needs of the 21st century. A political price might have to made here but from a long duree perspective, it is the adoption of this particular approach that would be more sustainable and yield rewards both to the United States and the world, at large. But, importantly, an important structural complement to the suggested paradigm, should be the creation of safety nets for those who are likely to be left behind by what is a veritable gale of “creative destruction” in the offing. Cumulatively, a novel approach toward education, skill development and a safety net could lead to a condition that would be win-win and offset the losses from freer trade. There would also ensue global prosperity which could undercut migratory pressures to both the developed world and the United States, in particular. In the final analysis, freer trade is a blessing that has proved to be a boon for mankind. It would be a sheer travesty if its momentum is derailed, even if temporarily. What is required, at this delicate point in world history, is far-sighted and deft leadership that is both particular and general. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

US-China trade talks: Free trade must not be derailed

With eight days left in their trade truce, the top US and Chinese officials on Thursday returned to the daunting task of bridging a chasm between the world's two largest economies.

US President Donald <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-us-china-trade-talks-going-very-well-198402">Trump has repeatedly claimed the talks with Beijing are going "very well,"</a> but concrete signs of progress have not been apparent in the three months since the two sides agreed to pause their trade war.

China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday the two sides would "go a step further in deepening their communication."

But analysts say the distance separating Washington and Beijing and the short time remaining before the March 1 deadline make it likely the outcome will feature banner announcements but fall short of Trump's most far-reaching goals.

"I think the consensus of people that have been following this thing is that they're not making nearly as much progress as the president tweets that they've been making," said William Reinsch, a former US trade official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Chinese trade envoy Liu He is leading Beijing's delegation in meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other American officials Thursday and Friday as they work to head off an escalation of US tariffs.

This fourth round of negotiations follows two days of preliminary talks at the deputy level.

Trump this week said a March 1 deadline to reach a deal was in fact "not a magical date," raising hopes that he could delay the plan to more than double US duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods.

Since July, Washington and Beijing have hit each other with tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries.

Washington has demanded that Beijing reverse much of its industrial policy, charging that China has sought global dominance through the alleged theft of American technology, massive subsidies and the promotion of mammoth state-owned enterprises.

US officials have stressed that any agreement must have teeth to ensure that China keeps its promises.&nbsp;

When Trump can claim 'victory!'

But demands for structural changes to China's economy likely will be far harder to resolve than complaints about the soaring US-China trade imbalance, which has hit record heights since Trump took office.

Trump has said the ultimate bargain will be struck at a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.

Reinsch told AFP the two sides were likely to strike some kind of deal.

"I'm sure they'll come up with something that will be more than cosmetic but less than we're asking," he said.

"It'll probably in the area of intellectual property theft and more open investment in China because they're the things that benefit them as well as benefit us."

But other changes -- such as subjecting China's state-owned enterprises to free-market principles -- could weaken the communist party's hold on power, making Chinese officials very reluctant to budge, he added.

Meanwhile, China's economy has begun slowing sharply as well, eroding prospects for global growth this year. Japan reported Tuesday that China-bound exports had dived 17.4 percent last month, the biggest drop in three years as demand there tumbled.

Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a former US trade official now at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he expected China to make a mega-bucks offer to buy more American exports -- and possibly even unilaterally remove tariffs on US goods.

"I'm thinking there'll be an eye-catching announcement as to how much China will buy in the next year or so that will enable Trump to say 'victory! victory!'" he told AFP.

But should the agreement fail to hold -- causing Washington to resume imposing tariffs while accusing Beijing of backsliding -- that could pose prove embarrassing for the Americans, he said.

With eight days left in their trade truce, the top US and Chinese officials on Thursday returned to the daunting task of bridging a chasm between the world's two largest economies.

With eight days left in their trade truce, the top US and Chinese officials on Thursday returned to the daunting task of bridging a chasm between the world's two largest economies. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the talks with Beijing are going "very well," but concrete signs of progress have not been apparent in the three months since the two sides agreed to pause their trade war. China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday the two sides would "go a step further in deepening their communication." But analysts say the distance separating Washington and Beijing and the short time remaining before the March 1 deadline make it likely the outcome will feature banner announcements but fall short of Trump's most far-reaching goals. "I think the consensus of people that have been following this thing is that they're not making nearly as much progress as the president tweets that they've been making," said William Reinsch, a former US trade official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chinese trade envoy Liu He is leading Beijing's delegation in meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other American officials Thursday and Friday as they work to head off an escalation of US tariffs. This fourth round of negotiations follows two days of preliminary talks at the deputy level. Trump this week said a March 1 deadline to reach a deal was in fact "not a magical date," raising hopes that he could delay the plan to more than double US duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Since July, Washington and Beijing have hit each other with tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries. Washington has demanded that Beijing reverse much of its industrial policy, charging that China has sought global dominance through the alleged theft of American technology, massive subsidies and the promotion of mammoth state-owned enterprises. US officials have stressed that any agreement must have teeth to ensure that China keeps its promises. When Trump can claim 'victory!' But demands for structural changes to China's economy likely will be far harder to resolve than complaints about the soaring US-China trade imbalance, which has hit record heights since Trump took office. Trump has said the ultimate bargain will be struck at a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping. Reinsch told AFP the two sides were likely to strike some kind of deal. "I'm sure they'll come up with something that will be more than cosmetic but less than we're asking," he said. "It'll probably in the area of intellectual property theft and more open investment in China because they're the things that benefit them as well as benefit us." But other changes -- such as subjecting China's state-owned enterprises to free-market principles -- could weaken the communist party's hold on power, making Chinese officials very reluctant to budge, he added. Meanwhile, China's economy has begun slowing sharply as well, eroding prospects for global growth this year. Japan reported Tuesday that China-bound exports had dived 17.4 percent last month, the biggest drop in three years as demand there tumbled. Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a former US trade official now at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he expected China to make a mega-bucks offer to buy more American exports -- and possibly even unilaterally remove tariffs on US goods. "I'm thinking there'll be an eye-catching announcement as to how much China will buy in the next year or so that will enable Trump to say 'victory! victory!'" he told AFP. But should the agreement fail to hold -- causing Washington to resume imposing tariffs while accusing Beijing of backsliding -- that could pose prove embarrassing for the Americans, he said.

With eight days left in US-China trade truce, high-level talks between officials resume