Unsurprisingly, trade talks between the US and China wrapped up in Shanghai with no sign of progress.
Little was expected from this week’s proceedings, the first in-person, principal-level talks since things fell apart in May.
“Based on what I know, Chinese and US negotiators had an efficient and constructive deep exchange on Wednesday”, Global Times editor Hu Xijin, who often tweets unofficially on behalf of the Party, said. “The two sides discussed increasing purchase of US farm products and the US side agreed to create favorable conditions for it”, he added.
Read more: As Accusations Fly, US-China Relationship Splinters Further At Just The Wrong Time
Donald Trump spent most of Tuesday lambasting China for failing to follow through on what he swears was a solemn promise from Beijing to purchase large quantities of farm goods. The US president continues to insist that China is determined to “rip off” America, rhetoric Beijing does not appreciate. Trump has also gone out of his way lately to suggest that Xi may try to stall until after the 2020 election in hopes a Democrat will oust Trump from the Oval Office.
The foreign ministry on Wednesday lamented the Trump administration’s combative approach. “Only when the US shows enough sincerity and good faith can we achieve progress in the trade talks”, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. Earlier this week, Hua accused the US of fomenting the discord in Hong Kong. Mike Pompeo calls the charges “ridiculous”.
On Wednesday, the latest PMI data out of China showed the economy is fragile, but apparently some semblance of stable. The manufacturing gauge printed a better-than-expected 49.7 which, while still in contraction, is a slight improvement. The non-manufacturing gauge fell to 53.7, down, but still solidly in expansion territory.
Trump’s aggressive banter on Tuesday revolved in part around lampooning China’s economy for being “the worst in 27 years”.
Ultimately, it appears as though nothing was accomplished in Shanghai. This is no longer a story about the two sides being “far apart”. Rather, it’s a tale of two economies with fundamentally different visions. This is now an economic cold war that shows no signs of thawing.
According Xinhua, the two sides will hold the next round of talks in September.
That’s meaningless, as there’s no telling what Trump will tweet between now and then.
