China and the United States promised to comply with trade agreement

China and the United States have once again promised to comply with the trade agreement between the major economic powers. The previous arrangements for the Phase 1 trade deal between the countries were confirmed by telephone on Tuesday.

The talks between American Trade Representative Robert Lightizer, his finance minister Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He provided some relief in the financial markets. There was some nervousness when it became apparent that China’s purchases of American products were lagging behind the commitments made.

This was the first high-level consultations since the beginning of May. The consultations were actually scheduled for 15 August, exactly six months after the conclusion of Phase 1 of the trade agreement.

American president Donald Trump put pressure on the relationship between countries, accusing China of withholding information about the corona virus. He said recently that he did not want anything to do with China. There is also disagreement on the new security law in Hong Kong. Trump also accuses Chinese tech companies like Huawei and TikTok of espionage.

According to Beijing, constructive consultations are being held by the countries. In doing so, the agreements contained in the earlier agreement are respected. According to the united states, also issues such as the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, in and to the elimination of barriers to U.s. companies in the financial services sector and the elimination of forced and compulsory technology audit.

China must increase the purchase of American products if it is to reach the promised additional USD 77 billion this year. Among other things, in the area of agricultural products, Beijing lags far behind the promised additional USD 36.5 billion. For Trump, these agreements are important in view of the possible re-election in November. Trump had a lot of support from agricultural states in the 2016 elections.