China and the United States agreed on Friday (08.05.2020/XNUMX/XNUMX) to create a favorable atmosphere and the necessary conditions for implement phase one of a trade pact, which would lead to an end to its tariff trade war.
According to a brief official statement, that decision was made a few hours ago in a telephone conversation on Vice Premier Liu He; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and Deputy Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrich.
The note added that the negotiators also agreed to maintain communication, Strengthen cooperation in areas such as macroeconomics and public health, and encourage the search for more positive solutions.
This is the first communication between the parties after they signed the phase one agreement in mid-January and now it took place amid rising tensions due to Washington's accusations against Beijing for the origin of the new coronavirus, which caused the Covid-19.
In this context, US President Donald Trump last week threatened to impose new tariffs on the Asian country, after mentioning the existence of evidence about the alleged link between the Wuhan biosecurity laboratory and the virus.
The initial phase of the agreement came into effect in February. It includes China's commitment to import $200 billion worth of agricultural and seafood products, manufactured goods such as aircraft, machinery and steel, and energy sector items from the United States over the next two years.
In this context, the parties recognize the importance of their economic and commercial ties, the interest in strengthening them in accordance with international standards and the need to resolve mutual concerns in an expeditious and constructive manner.
They therefore established obligations and mechanisms to manage differences related to intellectual property, food and agricultural products, trade promotion, finance, currencies and transparency, forced technology transfer, bilateral developments, and dispute resolution.
They also agreed to prohibit and sanction theft of trade secrets and cybersecurity, as well as measures against all forms of counterfeiting, piracy and copyright infringement.
Other significant aspects include rules to remove barriers to trade in infant formula, meat, beef, seafood and agricultural biotechnology, as well as facilities for American banks to underwrite the debts of Chinese companies and introduce their services.
The two powers, among other things, agreed to abide by the principles of the International Monetary Fund to avoid exchange rate manipulation and will work together to regulate the foreign exchange market and curb devaluations aimed at achieving greater commercial competitiveness.
With EFE information
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