The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) suggested that China and the United States must take the opportunity to abide by the phase one of the China-US trade deal to improve cooperation and remove destabilizing factors that hinder stronger bilateral business ties. Trade volumes have been failing in recent years, and the MOC suggested that both countries must avoid imposing new restrictions that could defeat the objectives of the trade deal.
Last Thursday, the MOC highlighted the need for China and the US to push through with their commitments to the economic and trade agreement between them to improve cooperation and remove destabilizing factors that affect their trade relations.
According to the MOC's spokesman Gao Geng, the ongoing pandemic caused significant declines in bilateral trade volumes on top of falling exports and imports between China and the US in recent years. He then suggested that both countries must avoid imposing new restrictions on investment and trade operations. He also highlighted the importance of both countries' efforts in jointly promoting healthy and stable development of their bilateral economic and trade relations to conform with phase one of the China-US trade deal.
Gao also claimed that it is significant for China and the US to maintain economic stability in their respective jurisdictions as this would promote a healthy global economy and neutralize the adverse effects of the pandemic as early as possible. Despite the issues between countries, the 2020 State Export report released by the China-US Business Council showed that China still maintains its position as the primary market for US exporters.
China was also one of the top five goods exporter for 42 US states in 2019. According to the Washington-based trade and investment promotional agency, most US states generated substantial economic value due to service exports such as licensing royalties to tourist spending.
Trade disputes also affected the total value of US companies and agricultural exports to China since 2018. Gao added that this information proved both countries could not gain from their disputes in the trade war and that cooperation and unity between them is the only solution to improve the economy.
According to the vice-chairman of Beijing-based China Society for World Trade Organization Studies Huo Jianguo, the pandemic has directly pushed both China and the US to improve their trade cooperation.
The report claimed that China's agricultural imports from the US significantly increased on an annual basis for the first quarter of 2020. Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that the China-US trade deal had been complied with amid the pandemic.
US agricultural imports to China yielded 35.56 billion yuan for the first quarter indicating a 1.1 percent increase on an annual basis. Soybean imports, in particular, generated 7.81 million metric tons, pork imports by 168,000 tons, and cotton by 43.5 percent increase to 124,000 metric tons.
