By Chuin-Wei Yap and Mark Magnier
BEIJING -- A broad plan to reset trade relations with the U.S.
gave China a choreographed diplomatic success ahead of a summit of
world leaders here this weekend, as both countries avoided some of
the stickiest issues of the relationship.
Beijing on Friday mirrored the Trump administration's
announcement of measures to make it easier for a variety of
American exports to enter China, with an emphasis on agriculture,
financial services and energy.
The plan struck a tone of cooperation after a bruising spiral of
retaliatory sanctions and mutual trade complaints. Coming a month
after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Florida, it
allowed China to depict Mr. Xi's team as skillful at negotiating
with a new American administration that has pledged to take China
to task over its trade practices.
However, some wordings were vague, and much of the progress
outlined had appeared to be already under way. A clear deadline for
China to lift a ban on U.S. beef was new, after Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang said last year that China would "soon" resume imports of
beef. The U.S. Meat Export Federation said it welcomed the
plan.
The lifting of the ban, imposed in 2003 over "mad-cow" concerns,
comes amid exploding Chinese demand for beef. China's growing
wealth has made it the world's fastest-growing beef market, with
consumption more than 20 times what it was five years ago.
"China can't develop herds to meet the demand that's
developing," said David Mahon, managing director of Mahon China
Investment Management, a Beijing-based private-equity firm.
Some foreign companies in China called the trade plan a missed
opportunity for the U.S. to address fundamental market-access
issues for Western firms in China.
"This move from China is a step in the right direction, but it's
just symbolic," said Ker Gibbs, chairman of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Shanghai. He said foreign players would continue having
a hard time gaining traction in China.
The announcement comes as Mr. Xi gets ready to showcase his
flagship trade project -- the One Belt, One Road plan to build
roads, pipelines and ports across a vast swath of the globe -- to
leaders of around 30 countries in Beijing. The project has come to
symbolize China's message that it is committed to open trade.
Chinese officials on Friday highlighted a mention of the
initiative in the U.S. and Chinese statements about the new trade
plan. China said Matthew Pottinger, the White House's top Asia
expert, was expected to attend the gathering, which starts
Sunday.
The statements failed to mention larger trade differences, such
as the effect of China's excess in industrial capacity on global
employment and markets. The U.S. last month ordered
national-security probes on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum.
The relationship has also frayed over Chinese chip makers'
challenges in stepping up investment in the U.S. and U.S.
accusations of Chinese hacking and other cybersecurity
concerns.
Beijing cast the plan as an illustration of its willingness to
further open its own markets, rather than a concession to
Washington's pressure to narrow China's $347 billion trade deficit
with the U.S.
Potentially the largest concession by Beijing was on U.S.
soybeans and corn, with China saying it would speed up clearance
for genetically modified crops it uses for animal feed. The
statement was short on details.
Chinese chicken exporters also welcomed the plan, which could
end limits on the poultry-product trade on both sides. "It has
great potential," said Zou Wenlong, an analyst with the
Nine-Alliance Group, a Chinese association of exporters, though he
added his group would keep a close watch for continued signs of
trade protectionism.
China banned U.S. chicken imports, including chicken claws
considered a delicacy in the Asian market, after a 2014 bird-flu
outbreak; the U.S. has intermittently limited Chinese poultry
imports because of health standards.
The U.S. already sells more agricultural products to China than
it buys, at $21.4 billion in 2016, according to U.S. data. Chinese
agricultural exports to the U.S. totaled about $10 billion.
The countries' statement also included a goal of opening China's
market in electronic payments. China's monopoly bank-card issuer,
China UnionPay Co., continues to dominate the market as China has
largely ignored a U.S. win in 2012 on the issue at the World Trade
Organization.
Visa said Friday it "looked forward to submitting an application
for a bank-card clearing institution license" as a result of
China's latest commitment to open the market. MasterCard's
spokesman Venture Liang said it looked forward to "full and prompt
market access in China."
There was little in the statement for financial-services firms
looking for a clear amendment of Chinese rules that shackle them to
domestic partners, from credit rating to bond underwriting.
"It's a one-off, not a structural opening up of China or a trade
deal," said Jörg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of
Commerce in China.
Pei Li and Chao Deng contributed to this article.
Write to Chuin-Wei Yap at chuin-wei.yap@wsj.com and Mark Magnier
at mark.magnier@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2017 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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