After a warm back-and-forth of trade tariffs, the US and China are ready to go back to diplomacy. In relation to the trade talks and how the tariffs have disrupted each others' trade, the US said it senses something in the Chinese stance that makes it confident in their approach.
According to CNBC, sources close to Washington sense that China may be feeling the crunch of the trade tariffs more than usual. The US is exploring initiating early stages of the talks, but it has yet to confirm it. It is looking at creating a meeting between key officials from Washington and Beijing in a few weeks' time to restart the trade talks.
Treasure secretary Steven Mnuchin has extended officials from China an invitation to re-start the talks, taking the cue from the president himself; again, on Twitter, the outspoken Trump had said that he was already decided on a fresh $267 billion of total tariffs to be imposed on China, on top of the $200 billion already in play.
The Chinese have responded positively to the invitation, despite fresh threats from Trump on Twitter. Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng reiterated the answer of the Chinese side, saying on Thursday that officials from both governments are monitoring the situation closely. Pending a review, both sides have agreed to meet up.
Trump's economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, spoke about what the US government felt about the Chinese. CNN reports that officials from the Trump administration are confident about their intelligence. They have gathered enough information to convince them that the Chinese leadership wanted the talks more than they do, and that prompted Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin to initiate invitations.
Only last month, trade negotiations between the two countries happened. Albeit it was initiated by lower-level officials from both countries, it was considered quite a feat; it, however, ended without any concrete agreements, and the tariff impositions went on as scheduled. Mnuchin and other officials from both sides have previously met, also to no avail.
As Trump issued another threat, Robert Carnell, an economist from investment bank ING, said that it was "the best time" for the US to take center-stage on talks regarding the trade dispute as well as the lifting of the tariffs. He suggested an approach similar to a "take it or leave it" deal, a position he said the US had presently.
