SINGAPORE (Feb 1): American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) says the best-case scenario emerging from the 90-day truce between US and China, which ends on March 1, would be a mutual agreement to short-term measures.
“The fundamental problem is a difference in the economic systems: the Chinese government has identified a whole range of industries that are strategically important, and they want to use all the resources of the state to ensure that Chinese companies excel and become world leaders in those industries,” says the organisation in a statement issued on Friday.
Aside from purchasing agreements targeting the trade deficit, AmCham China foresees the possibility of the two sides coming up with a comprehensive framework with specificity and clear timelines for resolving long-standing structural issues.
This may include, but is not limited to: strengthening intellectual property (IP) protections, market access and rules on technology transfer, as well as measurement & enforcement mechanisms designed to follow progress on these issues.
While AmCham China finds that the two governments’ commitment to continuing the discussions “encouraging”, it emphasises that while these two days of talks are critically important, they are but only an interim step which is still ultimately short of a process that will only show results by March 1.
“AmCham China remains committed as a resource to both sides for constructive inputs in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory result,” adds the organisation.
