The commercial discussions scheduled for this Saturday between the China and the United States to take stock of the agreement signed in january were pushed back, in the midst of renewed tensions between the two countries, according to press reports published on Friday August 14.
No date has been given for this new meeting, which was to take place by interposed video, according to the Bloomberg agency.
In January, after nearly two years of a trade war, a deal was signed with great fanfare, and China pledged to purchase an additional $ 200 billion in US goods and services.
Automobiles, industrial machinery, metals, cereals, cottons, meat, petroleum, financial services, … all this was to reduce the American trade deficit, a requirement of Donald Trump.
Coronavirus, Hong Kong and TikTok at the heart of tensions
But the promised purchases were not made, in particular because of the pandemic of Covid-19 which put a stop to international trade.
By the end of June, barely half (46%) of the purchases expected at this point had been made, according to data compiled by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).
And relations have deteriorated between the two countries, around the origin of the virus, from the situation to Hong Kong or even TikTok social network, which Donald Trump accuses of spying for the benefit of Beijing.
Beijing stressed on Friday, before the announcement of the cancellation, that the two sides “Had to work together to strengthen cooperation and overcome difficulties together”.
The January deal says of « phase I », was to pave the way for a « phase II », synonymous with even greater trade between the two countries.
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