Export controls, not tariffs, will take center stage at the US-China trade ministerial meeting to be held in London on June 9, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.
In recent weeks, the focus of the trade war between the two countries has shifted from tariffs to export restrictions. According to sources in the newspaper, in May, US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer and his Chinese counterpart Li Chenggang already discussed issues related to export control standards. The presence of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the talks on June 9 will be a good sign for Beijing, as it will show US President Donald Trump's willingness to seriously discuss this issue, the authors of the article believe.
At the upcoming meeting in Britain, Washington plans to ask China to increase the volume of rare earth metal supplies to the US, and Chinese representatives, in turn, will ask the US delegation to resume the sale of technologies related to jet engines and semiconductors, The Wall Street Journal reports. Another important issue for Beijing is the US statement on May 12 about the alleged risks of using Chinese microcircuits Huawei Ascend. As the newspaper learned, this statement surprised and upset some officials of the US Treasury Department, and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded by accusing the US authorities of violating the consensus reached at the Geneva talks on May 10-11.
Earlier, Trump announced that the US delegation to the talks in London, in addition to Latnik, would include Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that He Lifeng would visit the United Kingdom from June 8 to 13 and hold trade talks with US representatives during the visit.