Chinese government-aligned experts are stressing that the U. S. will need to negotiate a trade agreement with Asia’s largest economy.
China’s domestic media is rallying the country’s population with messages of standing firm against American „bullying,“ while Chinese government-aligned experts are stressing to an overseas audience that the U. S. will need to negotiate.
The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a trade fight for more than a year. Both sides appeared to be making progress until early this month, when President Donald Trump accused China of reneging on a deal and raised tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese products to 25%. Beijing retaliated with raising levies on $60 billion worth of U. S. products.
Now, there have been no announcements about the next round of talks, and markets await some signal about the future of the trade war that’s roiled stocks over the last year. Throughout this current lull, China’s state-run newspapers and television channels have taken an increasingly anti-American tone. Still, the country’s expert class is emphasizing what the U. S. has to gain from cooperating with Beijing.
„In the next 20 to 30 years, the U. S. shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity and lose the China market,“ Wei Jianguo, a former vice minister at China’s Ministry of Commerce, told CNBC in an interview Wednesday. He is now vice chairman and deputy executive officer at Beijing-based think tank China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
„I believe Americans should grasp this opportunity. This big economic system will give America more material benefits, including employment, including products, including product exports, including revenues,“ Wei said, according to Mandarin-language remarks translated by CNBC.
„Personally, I think, as long as there is negotiation, then there will be results,“ he said.
On the same day, two speakers addressing foreign reporters at a small press event organized by the government’s main information office echoed some of Wei’s sentiments.
