China commits to ‘significantly increase purchases’ of US products but no mention of $200bn cut to its trade surplusThe United States and China have reached consensus on measures to “substantially” reduce the US trade deficit with Beijing, but there was no mention of the $200bn target previously touted by the White House. “There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China,” the statement said. Last year, the US had a $375.2bn trade deficit with China, a source of frequent and bitter complaints by Trump. Trump has threatened China with tariffs on up to $150bn of imports, prompting China to threaten US agricultural exports. China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programs.

Source: The Guardian May 20, 2018 01:33 UTC