The Beef with Tariffs: Beef import industry watching China-US trade talks

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02:52

A new round of trade talks between China and the US is taking place this weekend in Beijing. But uncertainties loom following the Trump administration's announcement the US would move forward with tariffs on 50 billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods. CGTN's Han Peng is in Shanghai where he talked to a couple who have been in the meat import business for decades.

Heated trade tension between China and the US is on the front burner for Xu Wei and his wife. They started their steak restaurant six months ago just before talk of a potential trade war. Imported US beef is among the products China has threatened to slap tariffs on, and this weekend's trade talks may decide if and when the proposed tariffs go into effect.

XU WEI GENERAL MANAGER, SHANGHAI NEW SOURCE INTERNATIONAL TRADING COMPANY "I see great sincerity in the Chinese government's policies of opening up the market. On May 31st, China added 20 more ranches to the import clearance list. American food products are strongly competitive and complementary in the Chinese market. US beef has a much higher quality than Chinese."

Xu Wei's wife was a marketing manager of the US Meat Export Federation dedicated to promoting US beef in China.

ZHU XIAOHUI MANAGER, PC WOK RESTAURANT "The American steaks are popular for their signature aroma. After the resumption of beef exports to China last year, American steaks were well received among Chinese consumers. Although the Australian steaks still take over half of our sales, the US steak sales are rising."

Xu Wei has been working in the food industry for decades. His company is the largest in Shanghai in terms of meat imports, and was the first to ship in U.S. beef after a 14-year ban. However, all the talk of an escalating trade war has him looking at alternatives.

XU WEI GENERAL MANAGER, SHANGHAI NEW SOURCE INTERNATIONAL TRADING COMPANY "We used to pay tariffs of just 24 percent to sell US pork in China. But the tariffs could rise sharply to over 50 percent, we can easily replace them with other exporters."

The import beef taxes remain unchanged, at least for now. But it all depends on this round of trade talks between the two countries. Xu Wei and his wife are hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst. Han Peng, CGTN, Shanghai.