Chinese and American trade officials will face-off in Beijing this week to set the stage for a renewed economic harmony between the two countries' bitter trade relations.
Nearly three months following discussions that ended up in enmity, the two side's delegation will attempt to make headways in Shanghai to iron out major kinks in their yearlong economic dispute.
According to people with knowledge of the talks, a major breakthrough is unlikely on areas that caused discussions to falter early last month, but that slight gains could be attainable.
Leading the American delegation, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lay down their views on efforts to revisit issues tackled in their talks last month, where a clear understanding was not reached "but we seemed to be about 90% of the way there," US economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he thinks China may be hesitant to approve an economic pact until after the 2020 US polls in the hope the government may then negotiate for further amenable conditions with a different US president.
"I think perhaps China will say 'Let us wait,' Trump said during a White House media conference. "Let us wait and see if one of them (new US president) could get elected," he said.
The resumption of talks is widely perceived as a positive sign, and Shanghai chosen as the new venue for the economic meeting is very suggestive.
The prospects for an improved China-US trade deal are impeded by frictions over geopolitical issues, including the South China Sea, North Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Huawei remains a major point of disagreement, with Chinese business leaders urging Washington to shoot down a proposed measure last week that would prevent China's telecommunications giant from gaining access into American patents.
The resumption of talks in Shanghai also signifies a concurrence of improving ties as the home of the 1972 Shanghai Communique -- a significant step in enhancing diplomatic partnerships between Washington and Beijing.
The Global Times, a state-controlled Chinese news agency, on Friday wrote in an editorial that the trade meeting "will take a long time" and the possibility of sealing an economic pact may not be signed if the US continues to put pressure on China.
Anticipations for progress in the scheduled 2-day Shanghai meet are not that high, so the two parties hope to at least outline initial strides made for goodwill and clear avenues for upcoming negotiations.
