White House demands big reduction in trade deficit with Beijing

World
Europe

02:04

US President Donald Trump is demanding big changes in trade with China after high-level talks that were held in Beijing. Among the White House demands: reducing the trade deficit by 200 billion US dollars by 2020.

Following the return of his trade delegation from Beijing on Saturday, President Trump insisted that the trade deficit between the US and China must be reduced.

Trump’s comments come as the world worries whether the two largest economies are sliding toward a trade war. The president was speaking in Cleveland, Ohio, promoting his tax plan, when he made the comment.

“My group just got back from China. We’re going to have to rework trade with China because that’s been a one-way street for decades, and we just can’t have it happen,” said Trump. “We have deficits with everybody. And don’t let anyone ever tell you that trade deficits are okay. They’re not okay. They’re not okay. We have massive trade deficits with China.”

The US trade delegation, led by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, spent two days in China meeting with Chinese leaders and business representatives.

State media reported that the two sides reached agreements on some issues in their economic and trade consultations from Thursday to Friday, and agreed to set up a work mechanism to keep close communication.

It’s been reported that in the meetings, the US delegation outlined demands for China to reduce its trade imbalance with the US by 200 billion US dollars by the end of 2020.

The US Census Bureau's data showed last year's trade deficit with China was 375 billion US dollars, while data from China's General Administration of Customs showed it at 275 billion US dollars.

China has reportedly offered to increase US imports and lower tariffs. But at the same time, Beijing is demanding the US ease sanctions on the Chinese technology firm ZTE.

Trump often complains about US trade deficits with countries around the world. He has vowed to lower them as part of his America First plan, to boost the US economy and jobs.

During a telephone conversation on Saturday between President Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both discussed the ongoing trade dispute, according to Yang, and the need for closer communications between the two countries.