US Trade Representative: US-China Relations Stable, Suggests Official Trade Commission

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing in mid-May. The US side has set trade and economic issues as the main agenda for the Trump-Xi meeting, hoping to extend the trade truce for one year. China continues to purchase US agricultural products and passenger aircraft, and ensures a stable supply of rare earths. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, at a "Future of Trade Policy" seminar held by the Hudson Institute think tank, pointed out that both the US and China currently describe bilateral economic and trade relations as stable, believing that no one wants to see large-scale confrontation or other potential variables. At the same time, the US must protect its national and economic security, so it maintains stability with China but continues to impose tariffs on goods, mainly advanced and manufacturing products. He emphasized that this is not to confront China; the US faces internal challenges, including an explosively large trade deficit affecting its structure, and ensuring the return of manufacturing jobs, all of which are related to China and other countries. Under these circumstances, the US must impose high tariffs on China. Last year, the US trade deficit with China decreased by 130 billion US dollars, a reduction of about 30%. Regarding foreseeable outcomes of the Trump-Xi meeting, Greer pointed out that the US hopes to maintain stable relations with China and rare earth supply. Representatives from both sides discussed rare earths and the subsequent stable state during their earlier meeting in Paris. He hopes to establish an official US-China Board of Trade, which think tanks and businesses can join, to create an operable mechanism to understand which non-sensitive goods can be traded and prioritized, and to set up processes. Greer said that currently, both sides have different views on investment issues, including potential restrictions on US investment in China and Chinese investment in US companies. Given these differing views, establishing an official trade commission would be more practical for goods trade and investment exchanges. Greer explained that under the current US-China relationship, neither side intends to discuss specific investment projects. The US hopes to control the trade deficit and consider national security when dealing with China, discussing individual investment projects within the framework of a possible trade commission. He emphasized that he hopes rare earth discussions can be resolved at the ministerial-level working meeting, without needing to escalate to leader-level meetings. The US recently also set up an action plan with Mexico for rare earth production, hoping to increase market output and establish a price mechanism. (Editor: Hong Qiyuan) 1150408