Face-to-face negotiations between the top Chinese and US trade negotiators could happen soon, according to Chinese state media, after a number of goodwill gestures by Beijing over the weekend.
Chinese companies asked US exporters about buying agricultural products and also applied for exemptions from China’s retaliatory tariffs on the goods, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
That shows China’s “goodwill” and its commitment to fulfill its promises to the US, Xinhua said early yesterday in a commentary.
The two sides have been “cautiously showing each other sincerity and goodwill” recently and may meet for discussions soon, according to Taoran Notes, a blog run by the state-owned Economic Daily newspaper.
POSITIVE SIGNALS
In China’s eyes, the US exclusions from punitive tariffs imposed on some Chinese goods and its push to allow US companies to supply Huawei Technologies Co (華為) were positive signals to advance the talks, according to both Xinhua and Taoran’s reports.
Senior White House officials invited US technology companies, including Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, to the White House yesterday to discuss a resumption of sales to Huawei, which is currently on a trade blacklist, according to people familiar with the matter.
With China’s top leadership likely to be out of Beijing from early next month for their annual seaside conclave, it is highly likely that a meeting between Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴) and his US counterparts is not far away, according to the Taoran Notes post on Sunday night on the WeChat platform.
The two sides spoke by telephone on Thursday to discuss “the next step of negotiations,” indicating a move toward face-to-face talks, Taoran said.
The call last week was the second since the two nations’ presidents met at the G20 summit in Japan in late last month.
Separate to the possible agricultural purchases, China announced on Saturday new measures to further open up the nation’s financial sector to foreign investors.
Foreign companies will be able to take a stake in or control entities, including wealth management units of commercial lenders, pension fund managers and currency brokers.
The changes were not announced as directly related to the trade talks with the US, but US criticism of China’s protection of various domestic markets is a core issue in the ongoing trade tensions.
These changes were made by the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee, which is also led by Liu.
Still, there was a note of caution in the reports.
Taoran said the tariffs imposed on Chinese products must be entirely removed or they would be an irritant during the talks.
The removal of the tariffs is one of three core conditions that China has made for any deal.
SOYBEANS ON THE MENU?
In related news, the Chinese government is in discussions with state and privately owned soybeans buyers over a plan to raise purchases of US supplies, according to people familiar with the situation.
The government met with the companies on Friday in Beijing to discuss the plan to purchase more soybeans that could include waiving retaliatory tariffs on US imports, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
The government is seeking feedback from companies and the plan is subject to change depending on the progress in trade talks, the people said.
Details, including potential purchase volumes, are yet to be finalized, they said.
The exemption might be valid for orders made within a 30-day period, the people said.
Initial estimates suggest volumes could be between 3.8 million and 6 million tonnes for shipments in September, one of the people said.
The latest plan follows complaints by US President Donald Trump that China has not increased its purchases of US farm products, a promise he said was secured at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Osaka.
Trump last week reiterated that he could impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports if he wants.
China made goodwill purchases of US farm goods earlier this year via its state-run firms COFCO International Ltd (中糧國際) and China Grain Reserves Corp (中儲糧集團) during a truce in their trade dispute, but private buyers had been put off from large purchases because of the import tariffs.
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