On Tuesday, 25 August, negotiators from the United States and China spoke on the phone and agreed to “push forward” their phase one economic deal, reported AFP. This development comes amid increasing tension between the two sides.
In January, the two countries had signed a deal, that had forged a “partial truce” in their ongoing trade war, reported AFP, obliging Beijing to import an additional $200 billion in American products over two years.
But owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been unable to make the purchase yet.
The phase one deal requires that officials "check-in" every six months, reported AFP.
WHAT DID THE US SAY?
In its statement confirming the talks, Washington said that the two countries discussed steps China needs to take to “effectuate” structural changes ordained in the agreement.
Further, according to AFP, it said that the changes would "ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer".
The statement mentioned that both US and China see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.
WHAT DID CHINA SAY?
China, in its part, said that with a "constructive dialogue”, the two countries "agreed to create conditions and atmosphere to continue to push forward the implementation of phase one of the China-US economic and trade agreement".
BACKDROP
Tensions between US and China have, in the recent past, increased over a host of issues including blame for the coronavirus pandemic and China's policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Further, TikTok, owned by Chinese company Bytedance, recently filed a lawsuit against the US government’s attacks on the app.
(With inputs from AFP.)
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