Why China Is Wary of a Trump-Xi Summit

In Washington, President Trump said he was willing to meet Xi Jinping, China’s main leader.

In Beijing, Chinese officials and experts agree that a meeting between the heads of state must precede any wide restoration of relations with the United States between Trump’s aggressive approach to commercial and foreign policy.

But organizing a meeting is already showing themselves slow and difficult.

Senator Steve Daines, Montana Republican, who came to Beijing this month as an informal representative of Mr. Trump, said that one of the main objectives for his journey was to lay the foundations for a presidential summit. After meeting China Vice Premier for economic policy, Lifeng, Daines said in an interview that he believed that a summit would be detained by the end of the year – a slower rhythm than many in Washington expected.

From the Chinese point of view, the officials of the Communist Party and the Government consultants declared in the interviews in the last week that they were affected by a abold by the rapid moves of Mr. Trump on rates, Greenland, Ukraine and other issues. They were surprised by his hostile treatment in public leaders of foreign leaders such as President Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine. As a result, they are cautious in planning a summit.

Tensions between Beijing and Washington could worsen this week when a new series of rates by Mr. Trump will come into force in a potentially large limit on trade.

Chinese officials are reluctant to plan a summit until the two sides have negotiated the details in advance, including an agreement between the two countries that would last for the rest of the mandate of Mr. Trump. The Trump administration has not yet specified what an acceptable agreement could be.

“The Chinese part believes that the Trump administration has not really understood what the way of facing China is and making an agreement,” Wu Xinbo said on Friday, dean of the Institute of International Studies at the Fudan University of Shanghai.

“The Chinese part would like to wait for a more constructive and sensitive signal by the Administration,” said Wu, who was part of An unofficial delegation of high retired Chinese officials and academic councilors who met American officials and experts last month in the United States.

Two other Chinese experts who are familiar with the discussions between the United States and China mentioned the possibility that the two leaders met in New York City in the time of the United Nations General Assembly in September. But it is not clear whether their governments can have enough progress since then, the experts have said, who were not authorized to comment.

In an answer by fax to questions about the possible timing of a summit, the Office of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chinese has declared that it has not been “any information to be released at this moment”.

On Wednesday he held a video call with Jamieson Greer, commercial representative of the United States. Mr. expressed concern about the imposition of Mr. Trump of two rounds of rates of 10 % on Chinese goods so far this year, according to a Chinese declaration after the meeting.

China has already sold the initial rates of Mr. Trump on Chinese goods by imposing extra rates on imports of American fossil fuels and agricultural products.

The journey of Senator Daines was only the second visit of the congress to China in over five years. While members of the congress usually travel to groups in foreign countries, no other senator or representative has chosen to accompany Mr. Daines to Beijing.

Beijing did not reward the American part for the raising awareness of Mr. Daines. In a move without notice on March 16, China, the largest world importer of beef meat, has stopped practically all the imports of American beef. Previously he had purchased $ 1 billion per year of American beef, largely from the state of Mr. Daines.

Beijing granted five -year licenses in March 2020 to several hundred American slaughterhouses to export beef to China. This happened after years of intermittent interruptions in shipments due to commercial frictions and alleged concerns of China for crazy cow’s disease in the United States, although international animal health experts found beef safely. The Chinese beef industry also opposed imports.

The recent expiry of the export licenses has actually closed the Chinese market, with shipments that fall to 54 tons in the week after the deadline expiry, from about 2,000 tons per week.

Beijing’s decision not to renew the slaughter licenses has put pressure on Mr. Daines.

“The effects of this decision on US breeders cannot be overrated, which is why I raised this problem directly with the vice premier that Lifeng,” Daines said, adding that he was “asking China to reverse this decision”.

The spokesman’s office at the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that “was not aware of the controversy on the slaughterhouse license.