Why US-China trade talks aren’t out of the woods yet despite interim deal
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi says ‘phase-one agreement’ will help stabilise relations but official media declines to hail victory
- Many details have yet to be announced and a number of thorny issues still have to be resolved
China’s foreign minister has said the interim trade deal with the US can help stabilise economic relations, but analysts warned that the future setbacks were still possible.
Beijing and Washington confirmed on Friday that their “phase-one” agreement would see US tariffs on Chinese goods rolled back in return for purchasing more agricultural and energy products as well as manufactured goods.
The US side claimed it was a “historic and enforceable” agreement, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a trip to Slovenia that it would “bring stability to the world’s trade order”.
According to a statement from the foreign ministry, he told a press conference that the deal would “help to restore China-US trade relations gradually and restore faith to the world economy” but he warned that there were still many problems to resolve.
China’s official media also declined to hail it as a victory.
State media outlets did not comment on the deal on Saturday, with the only exception being Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with the official party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
