Senior Chinese and U.S. trade officials held their first phone call since the Biden administration took office. During the phone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the two sides held “candid, pragmatic and constructive exchanges with an attitude of equality and mutual respect,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement. For its part, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative also described the exchange as “candid” in a statement. While details of the talks remain unclear, “the dialogue itself is positive,” He Weiwen, former Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese Consulates General in San Francisco and New York, told the Global Times. In the first quarter of 2021, China's exports to the U.S. jumped 62.7% year-on-year, while China's imports from the U.S. increased 57.9%, according to Chinese data. Despite disputes, the two countries have also continued the phase one trade agreement.
Lifting tariffs will be a key issue to be discussed in later trade talks between China and the US, and while the process might be tough, the two countries are likely to reach consensus at least on an incremental removal of tariffs, Gao Lingyun, Expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing, who closely follows trade issues, told the Global Times.
