SHANGHI (AP) — U.S. and Chinese negotiators met Wednesday on a new round of talks to end their tariff war. Donald Trump shook financial markets the day before accusing Beijing of forcing stagnation in the hope that he won’t be re-elected at 2020.La meeting ended about 40 minutes earlier than scheduled on Wednesday afternoon. Neither delegation spoke to reporters and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin departed for the Chinese city airport.
Economists venture that sudden progress is unlikely as Washington and Beijing continue to maintain the same differences over China’s technology policy and trade surplus that caused the collapse of the negotiations in May. Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping agreed last month to resume contacts, but neither government seemed willing to offer major concessions. HELP US Click the Google News star and follow usThe dispute, which was born from the Us complaint that China steals or pressures companies to deliver their technology, affected exporters in the two countries and altered trade in all kinds of goods , from soybeans to medical equipment. Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports valued at $250 billion, while Beijing responded by taxing US products worth $110 billion. Chinese leadership resists Pressure from Washington to abandon its plans to create leading industries in state-sponsored robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies. The United States complains that these efforts are based on pressure or theft of foreign companies to share their technology. For their part, US negotiators are reluctant to yield to China’s demand to immediately lift tariffs. Trump wants to keep some of the levies to ensure Beijing complies with the agreements. The rhetoric of the two sides has hardened, generating the idea that leaders are preparing for a “war of attrition.”
