China said “timely communication” should be maintained with the United States on key issues (Representation)
Beijing:
Beijing and Washington must resume strategic communications, an adviser to the Chinese government said Thursday, noting that the relations were “very unsatisfactory” and that the coronavirus had struck the implementation of their trade agreement.
Tensions between the United States and China have increased this year since the signing of a partial trade agreement in January, authorities swapping barbs on the origin of the pandemic – which has surfaced for the first time in the center. from China and has since ravaged the global economy.
Although the two countries have committed to abide by the terms of the deal, analysts have reported growing uncertainty, a recent drop in Chinese purchases of US soybeans, and a drop in US imports in the first months of this year.
Zhu Guangyao, adviser to the Council of State, said at a press conference that “objectively speaking, the epidemic has an impact on the implementation of this agreement”.
“But even under such circumstances, China has stressed that the two sides should work together,” added Zhu, who is also a former deputy finance minister.
As part of the deal, Beijing has agreed to import an additional $ 200 billion in US products over two years, although economists are concerned whether this will happen with business activity hammered by the virus.
Officials said last month that “good progress” was being made to create the conditions necessary for the success of the agreement.
Zhu said he expects the second stage of trade talks to touch on structural issues, stressing that the close bond between the two economies stems from decades of hard work and that “decoupling will not happen simply because some people say it. “
But he acknowledged that the current state of US-China relations was “very unsatisfactory because the communication channels are at a standstill.”
He said China and the United States should maintain “timely communication” on key issues, adding that the two sides “should resume strategic communication at various levels, including in politics, diplomacy and the economy. “.
Councilors of the Council of State remain optimistic about the economic recovery in China.
Liu Huan, also former deputy director of the Central University of Finance and Economics’ school of taxation, said on Thursday that he expects a rebound in the second quarter and an increase in consumption in the third. if the epidemic situation stabilizes.
China has experienced a historic contraction in GDP in the first three months.
Liu said he believes China “does not rule out the possibility of a larger budget deficit or stimulus”, but it depends on the effectiveness of existing monetary policy.
He said securing employment was the priority and that China was unlikely to engage in “irresponsible quantitative easing”.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
