China is committed to its Phase 1 trade deal with the United States and is working towards meeting its promise to boost US purchases, even though the pace of buying has been restrained by the coronavirus outbreak, reported Reuters.
Under the Phase 1 deal signed in January, Beijing pledged to buy at least $200 billion in additional US goods and services over two years and Washington agreed to roll back tariffs in stages on Chinese goods. But US President Donald Trump has threatened to terminate the deal if China fails to meet its purchase commitments.
China’s April imports of US goods slumped 11.1% in dollar terms from a year earlier, weighed by weaker domestic demand because of the pandemic. Chinese officials have on many occasions in recent months discussed how to fulfill China’s commitments under the deal to the fullest extent, two officials in Beijing who are familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday.
“If both sides are working in the same positive direction, for months in which purchases can’t reach the agreed quotas, those can be supplemented in other months,” one of them said. “After all, it’s not a deal that can be completed with one single transaction. The difficulties caused by the epidemic should also be taken into consideration.”
