SinoTech
SinoTech: The U.S. and China Remain Defiant in Their Trade and Tech Positions Ahead of the G20 Summit
U.S.-China tensions persist ahead of G20 summit
Rachel Brown holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. Before law school, she worked as a research associate in Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a bachelor's degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale.
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U.S.-China tensions persist ahead of G20 summit
On Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the establishment of an “unreliable entities” list. Gao Feng, a ministry spokesman, said that “foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals that do not comply with market rules, violate contracts, block or cut supplies to Chinese firms with non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, will be added to the list of unreliable entities.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin concluded the 10th round of U.S.-China trade talks with Vice Premier Liu He on May 1. President Trump initially cast the negotiations as a success, but then tweeted on Sunday that he would raise the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent by week’s end.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed last week on CNBC that U.S. and Chinese negotiators have reached agreement on an “enforcement mechanism” as part of negotiations over a bilateral trade deal. Mnuchin specified that both sides “will establish enforcement offices that will deal” with matters of compliance.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer concluded another round of trade talks with their Chinese counterparts last week in Beijing. Much of this round centered on how to handle key structural issues surrounding technology transfer and data storage.
On March 14, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin shared with reporters that the Trump-Xi summit, originally scheduled for late March, would be pushed back because American and Chinese trade negotiators are still working to address unspecified issues. The Wall Street Journal reported on March 19 that negotiators are hoping to finalize a deal by late April.