Chinese Vice Premier Liu He meets with President Donald Trump in February, 2019
Wall Street Journal: Why China Decided to Play Hardball in Trade Talks
Chinese negotiators emboldened by perception U.S. was willing to compromise.
The new hard line taken by China in trade talks—surprising the White House and threatening to derail negotiations—came after Beijing interpreted recent statements and actions by President Trump as a sign the U.S. was ready to make concessions, said people familiar with the thinking of the Chinese side.
High-level negotiations are scheduled to resume Thursday in Washington, but the expectations and the stakes have changed significantly. A week ago, the assumption was that negotiators would be closing the deal. Now, they are trying to keep it from collapsing.
Adding to the pressure, the U.S. formally filed paperwork Wednesday to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from the current 10% at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Beijing’s Commerce Ministry responded by threatening to take unspecified countermeasures. At a campaign rally in Florida Wednesday night, Mr. Trump said Chinese leaders “broke the deal” in trade talks with the U.S.
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Update: As trade truce collapses, US, China scramble to revive a deal (AFP)
WNU Editor: China is playing hardball .... and I think it is a mistake. Their perception that the U.S. will compromise is also a mistake. Either way we will know in the coming days on where this is all heading.
