Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Opinion
    Home / Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

    China-US rice deal plants the seeds of change

    By Harvey Morris | China Daily | Updated: 2017-07-30 09:14
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    A farmer stands near his combine during harvest near Sequim, Washington. [Photo/Agencies]

    Trade talks held in Washington earlier this month provided an open goal for headline writers. "China to import American rice", or some variant thereof, was how many of the US media outlets greeted the positive outcome of a wide-ranging bilateral economic dialogue.

    The concept of China, birthplace of rice cultivation and now its largest producer and consumer, shipping in supplies from the United States was newsworthy from the novelty aspect alone. In fact, China has been importing rice from other countries and regions for some time to meet the demands of a growing population and an increasingly industrialized economy. Purchases, principally from Asian neighbors, have already turned it into the world's biggest rice importer.

    The Washington rice deal is the culmination of a decade of negotiations. Shipments will go ahead once Chinese officials have inspected production facilities in the US. The agreement is important as much for its symbolic value as for the sums involved. Overall, the US exports 3 million to 4 million metric tons of rice a year, while China produces about 206 million tons.

    However, the deal underlines a positive shift in expectations for the future of the US-China economic relationship after the dire threats of a trade war that emerged during Donald Trump's successful "America First" presidential campaign last year. The Washington talks-officially termed the US-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue-were the fruit of the first meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping in April. Meeting at Trump's Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago, the two leaders agreed to establish the dialogue to resolve differences on perhaps the most crucial area of bilateral relations-trade.

    Discussing a one-year action plan for future economic cooperation, the two sides agreed to address a trade imbalance that currently works in China's favor. Trump complained, during his campaign, of unfair competition from Chinese producers that he said had impoverished traditional US manufacturing states. China's stated policy, meanwhile, has been that trade relations should be established on a "win-win" basis that profits both sides.

    A statement from the US Department of Commerce said the Chinese team had "acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit, which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve". According to the statement, the first 100 days since the Mar-a-Lago summit had seen progress on a number of important issues, including credit ratings, bond clearing, electronic payments, commercial banking and liquefied natural gas. It also noted that China was allowing imports of US beef for the first time since 2003.

    "The principles of balance, fairness and reciprocity on matters of trade will continue to guide the American position so we can give American workers and businesses an opportunity to compete on a level playing field," the Department of Commerce said.

    The Chinese side, for its part, said it looked forward to an expansion in the trade in services with the US. According to a statement from the Chinese delegation, expanding bilateral trade in services could help promote balanced trading relations between the two countries.

    The two sides also agreed to create a more open investment environment and to finalize an investment treaty that has support among US and Chinese businesses. The dialogue showed both sides recognize that current trade imbalances were unsustainably large and could damage the prospects for cooperation in other vital areas such as diplomacy and security.

    For China, "win-win cooperation" remains a fundamental foreign policy objective.

    In the overall context of the mammoth problems that Washington and Beijing have to resolve to put their economic ties on a new footing, the deal on rice might seem insignificant and even trivial. But it provides a handy symbol for the opening of a more balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade relationship.

    The author is a senior editorial consultant for China Daily. harveymorris@gmail.com

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    精品久久久久中文字| 免费无码成人AV在线播放不卡| 亚洲精品无码成人片久久| 久别的草原在线影院电影观看中文| 亚洲熟妇无码另类久久久| 久久精品天天中文字幕人妻 | 精品无码专区亚洲| 八戒理论片午影院无码爱恋| 久久亚洲精品中文字幕| 丰满人妻AV无码一区二区三区| 免费无码一区二区三区蜜桃| 中文字幕高清在线| 日韩亚洲欧美中文在线| av区无码字幕中文色| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区在线| 国产在线无码精品电影网| 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕 | 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆| 国产麻豆天美果冻无码视频| 色综合久久久久无码专区| 国产色无码专区在线观看| 免费看无码特级毛片| 中文字幕日本精品一区二区三区| 最近免费最新高清中文字幕韩国 | 中文无码喷潮在线播放| 亚洲Av无码乱码在线znlu| 国产精品无码一区二区在线观一| 日木av无码专区亚洲av毛片| 午夜无码A级毛片免费视频| 亚洲AV无码国产丝袜在线观看| 伊人久久精品无码av一区| 亚洲桃色AV无码| 少妇无码AV无码专区在线观看| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区夜夜嗨 | 久久丝袜精品中文字幕| 日本欧美亚洲中文| 免费无码一区二区三区蜜桃| 一本一道AV无码中文字幕| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区中| 中文字幕有码无码AV| 无码伊人66久久大杳蕉网站谷歌|