logo
  • Home
  • National
  • Sylhet
    • Moulvibazar
    • Sunamganj
    • Habiganj
  • NRB News
  • UK News
  • International
  • Sports
  • Tourism
  • Entertainment
  • Business
    • Technology
    • Featured
    • Opinion
    • Health
    • Life Style
    • Photo Gallery
    • Sylhet Mirror Team
  • Home
  • National
  • International
  • UK News
  • NRB News
  • Sylhet
  • Sunamganj
  • Moulvibazar
  • Habiganj
  • Business
  • Featured
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Photo Gallery
  • Sports
  • SUST
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Sylhet Mirror Team
  • Contact us
  1. Home
  2. Business
  3. China hopeful on US trade talks: official

China hopeful on US trade talks: official


Published: 09 March 2019, 7:34:13

China hopeful on US trade talks: official

Beijing is hopeful about its next round of trade talks with the US, China’s vice minister for commerce said Saturday, after revealing that top negotiators had tried to hammer out a deal over burgers and eggplant chicken.
 

China and the United States have been locked in a bruising trade war since last year, imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, which has left global markets reeling. 

Top-level negotiators have met three times in an attempt to reach an agreement before next week, when additional tariffs could be levied on Chinese goods entering the US as a truce period expires.

 

“When you ask about the prospects for the next Sino-US economic and trade consultation, I feel that there is hope,” Vice Minister for Commerce Wang Shouwen told journalists at a press briefing on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress.

 

He added that Beijing’s top economic official Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held talks over a packed lunch of burgers and eggplant stir-fried with chicken — a common Chinese dish — in Washington last month. 

“Vice Premier Liu ate a beef burger, and Lighthizer ate eggplant and chicken (with rice),” Wang said.

 

“Throughout the consultation process, there was coffee and tea… but both drank plain water.”

 

“This was to find common ground,” he added.

 

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan had on Tuesday said the negotiation process was very “difficult and taxing” with “lots left to do”, but that breakthroughs had been made in several areas.

 

But there have been conflicting comments from Washington and Beijing on the negotiations.

 

Donald Trump on Friday said he remains optimistic but will not sign a pact unless it is a “very good deal”, and a top economic advisor said the US president could walk away from a bad deal.

 

Some of the issues being worked out are what US trade officials call unfair trade practices, including Chinese subsidies to major industries, preferential treatment for Chinese firms and theft of US technology.

 

The subsidies were denied by China’s state-assets watchdog, which manages the country’s 102 state-owned giants.

 

“There are no institutional special arrangements or additional subsidies for state-owned enterprises,” State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission chief Xiao Yaqing said at a Saturday press briefing.

 

He added that state enterprises were “very concerned” with trade negotiations and hoping for a positive outcome leading to a “good environment for business development”.

 

– Investment law –

Commerce officials also said a foreign investment law — widely expected to be passed by China’s rubber-stamp parliament next Friday — will allow foreign companies to take part in government tenders.

 

Only 48 sectors remain on a “negative list” where foreign investment is either prohibited or requires special approval, Wang told journalists.

 

“The (whole process) is open and provides important legal protection for foreign investors.”

 

Aimed at assuaging concerns about China’s business environment for foreign firms, Beijing sees the law as a tool to attract more foreign investment as its economy slows.

 

The bill will ban the illegal transfer of technology and “illegal government interference” in foreign businesses, a key complaint from Washington.

Business
Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time

Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time

Govt set to complete NBR split by Dec

Govt set to complete NBR split by Dec

New Trump tariff threats rekindle investor concerns

New Trump tariff threats rekindle investor concerns

Bangladesh’s RMG exports notches 8.84% growth in FY25

Bangladesh’s RMG exports notches 8.84% growth in FY25

Latest News
Starmer to meet Trump during Scotland trip ahead of state visit
Starmer to meet Trump during Scotland trip ahead of state visit
Sadiq Khan could cut car parking spaces under plans leaked by careless official
Sadiq Khan could cut car parking spaces under plans leaked by careless official
Four dead in Southend Airport plane crash
Four dead in Southend Airport plane crash
Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time
Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time
Comfortable shirts, fatua for summer
Comfortable shirts, fatua for summer
One more die of COVID-19
One more die of COVID-19
Ex-minister Qamrul denied bail
Ex-minister Qamrul denied bail
Mitford murder: 2 siblings put on 5-day remand
Mitford murder: 2 siblings put on 5-day remand
No significant rise in crime, data shows
No significant rise in crime, data shows
Biman resumes Sylhet-Manchester direct flights after 2 months
Biman resumes Sylhet-Manchester direct flights after 2 months
Women’s protest, voices gave new strength to anti-fascist movement: Ali Riaz
Women’s protest, voices gave new strength to anti-fascist movement: Ali Riaz
Chelsea beat PSG to win Club World Cup as Maresca hails triumph equal to Champions League
Chelsea beat PSG to win Club World Cup as Maresca hails triumph equal to Champions League
BNP forms probe committee over Mitford murder
BNP forms probe committee over Mitford murder
Nasir, Tamima plead not guilty in court
Nasir, Tamima plead not guilty in court
Third group of 30 Bangladeshis repatriated from Tehran amid regional tensions
Third group of 30 Bangladeshis repatriated from Tehran amid regional tensions


© 2023 Sylhetmirror.com All Rights Reserved

Editor : Mohammed Abdul Karim (Goni)
Executive Editor : Enamul Haque Renu

Sylhet Mirror Team

Office: Unit 2, 60 Hanbury Street London E1 5JL Email : sylhetmirror@gmail.com

Developed by: Web Design & IT Company in Bangladesh

Go to top