Negotiators for the U.S. and China will face off in Shanghai this coming week in yet another attempt to piece together a trade accord, amid considerably lowered expectations for the kind of sweeping deal that appeared within reach this spring. Modest wins might be obtainable, however.
People close to the talks say a major breakthrough is unlikely on points that led to negotiations breaking down in early May. That includes the U.S. insistence that China commit to legal changes to protect intellectual property and abandon state subsidies to business, and Beijing’s demands that the U.S. drop all tariffs as a condition for a deal.
Even President Donald Trump played down the odds of a significant breakthrough. “I don’t know if they’re going to make a deal,” Trump said Friday. “Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.”
Among the possible smaller achievements that might be obtainable, close observers say, would be a commitment by China to purchase more agricultural products and action by the U.S. to relax its ban on U.S. companies selling to telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co., which Trump has already agreed to do in general terms. Progress toward a small agreement on Huawei and agricultural purchases could set the stage for negotiators to tackle bigger issues in a follow-up meeting in Washington, the people following the talks say.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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