On Sunday, May 11th, the US-China trade teams concluded a two-day negotiation. The US side indicated that substantial progress had been made in the talks, and the agreements reached with China would help the United States reduce its massive trade deficit. White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett stated that Beijing was eager to reach an agreement.
During an interview on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Hassett, the Director of the White House National Economic Council, expressed that China was very keen to participate in discussions to “normalize everything.”
Hassett also mentioned that US Commerce Secretary Lutenick informed him that about 24 agreements were being handled by Lutenick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. He described these agreements as somewhat similar to the UK’s agreements, but each one was tailored specifically. As different countries had committed varying wrongdoings, their areas of concern were also different.
He emphasized that every country desired agreements and wanted to reach them quickly. The US might potentially reach more trade agreements with other countries as early as this week. Last week, the UK became the first country to reach a trade agreement with the US.
The prospect of the US reaching agreements with global trading partners is a concern for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to Reuters, three officials familiar with Beijing’s thoughts revealed that as China’s trading partners started negotiations with the US, CCP officials privately grew increasingly worried about the impact of tariffs on the Chinese economy and the risk of isolation. This was one of the reasons Vice Premier He Lifeng participated in the US-China negotiations.
The same sources informed Reuters that another key reason for the CCP to engage in negotiations was internal signals indicating Chinese companies struggling to avoid bankruptcy due to the tariff impacts, making it challenging for affected companies to find alternative markets in the US.
Investment bank Nomura cautioned that the trade war could potentially cost China up to 16 million job opportunities.