Trade officials of China and the United States are looking to turn the heat down on the trade tension that has been building between the two countries.
Recently China announced it would remove its self-imposed export tariffs on its textile industries. The country claimed that its products were already under too much pressure from the U.S. and EU.
“Sino-US trade witnessed such great progress in the last 26 or 27 years and we two countries should have the capability to properly deal with the textile trade issue and other questions,” said Bo. “China has become the third-largest trade partner of the United States and it’s natural for some problems to emerge … We exchanged our points on the textile issue frankly.”
China has dominated the textile industry since these quotas ended leaving all of these other countries hurting because they can’t afford to compete with China’s prices.
The U.S. has already set limits on certain textile import categories. The U.S. recently gave a China a six-month deadline to make the currency more flexible, but China said that it could not do so in a set timeframe. Reuters reports:
Gutierrez, on the tail end of a three-day visit, was later joined by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman for a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, who said the stakes were just as high for China, which employs 19 million textile workers.
Wu, who oversees trade issues, called textiles a “major problem” in Sino-U.S. relations that could affect ties unless it was properly dealt with.
Gutierrez said that he understands China’s unhappiness with the pressure from Washington, but that it is necessary. “I don’t believe there is a full appreciation in China for the level of political pressure that we face with respect to our relationship,” he said.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.