The 90-day truce in customs disputes agreed between the United States and China during trade talks in Geneva last weekend is too short. This is noted by the Chinese state-backed newspaper “Global Times“, quoted by “Reuters“, reports News.bg.
During the summit in Switzerland, the US agreed to temporarily reduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% for the next three months. In response, China has pledged to reduce tariffs on imports of American goods from 125% to 10%.
“The window for mutually beneficial cooperation should exceed the period of just 90 days“, wrote “Global Times“ - a publication affiliated with the official organ of the Chinese Communist Party “People's Daily“. The newspaper often signals possible future actions by Beijing in international trade relations.
The publication expresses hope that the US side will build on what has been achieved and continue constructive dialogue with China.
As part of the truce, Beijing also agreed to temporarily suspend or eliminate some of the countermeasures introduced since April 2 that are not related to tariffs. However, for now, the only concrete step is the decision not to include about 50 American companies in various “blacklists“ that limit their trade and investment activities in the country.
In addition, China has committed to removing export restrictions imposed after April 2 - a measure that could lead to the lifting of restrictions on strategically important rare earth elements. However, Beijing has not yet taken an official position on this issue.
Analysts warn that China is unlikely to rush to specify the commitments it has made.
“There is no point in China disclosing details about the removal of barriers that are not related to tariffs - this provides itself with the necessary flexibility,“ says Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group.
“Tariffs will probably be raised again in 90 days, and Beijing may sign limited purchase agreements. "The real negotiations will be on barriers beyond customs policy," she added.