China Has Low Expectations for Trade Agreement Ahead of Talks, State Media Says
China Has Low Expectations for Trade Agreement Ahead of Talks, State Media Says
“There are obviously many trade differences between the two countries, the attitude of the U.S. is not sincere, the area of conflict is growing broader, and strategic mutual distrust is increasing,” the piece said. “The U.S. has always emphasized its strengths, but the problem is that its actual advantage is far from supporting its demands on China, and Washington seems to have not understood this.”
The editorial brushed off the U.S.’s decision this week to blacklist Chinese companies connected to the mass detention of Muslims in the country’s far west region of Xinjiang. This is an old strategy of exerting maximum pressure ahead of talks and would have little impact on the focus or will of the Chinese side, it said.
“China has already seen many U.S. cards. It is completely unrealistic for the U.S. to surprise China with a new card,” said the editorial, published Tuesday evening in Chinese and English. “No matter how many bargaining chips the U.S. adds to the trade war, China is prepared for them.”
A separate article Tuesday on the state media-connected blog Taoran Notes was also less than optimistic about the negotiations, but emphasized that it was necessary to continue talking -- even if the U.S. was to impose more tariffs. The U.S. will remain aggressive, while China will continue “defensively counterattacking” and should focus on doing its own thing, the article said.
“There are more solutions than difficulties, as long as you maintain a resilient spirit,” it concluded.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: James Mayger in Beijing at jmayger@bloomberg.net;Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Sharon Chen
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With assistance from Bloomberg