Description: Trade representatives from China and the US commenced their two – day reinstated negotiations in Stockholm where an extension of the tariff ceasefire is expected to be announced. China and the US are aiming to build upon their previous trade negotiations in Geneva and London and create momentum for potentially arranging a leaders summit between Trump and Xi in the upcoming period, officially ending the trade tensions with a high – level consensus confirmed by the presidents. Multiple obstacles on the way to an official trade agreement have been raised, such as the bipartisan bill that the two largest parties in the US are pushing to target China’s lack of regulation on sensitive pharmaceutical products which enable the illegal proliferation of fentanyl, the country’s crackdown on minorities such as the Uyghurs and China’s territorial ambitions towards Taiwan. Other sensitive subjects that are expected to be touched upon are China’s unequivocal support to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the imbedded economic ties with Iran’s oil industry. Tensions regarding these issues have spiraled in recent months as China has imposed exit bans on US citizens suspected of conducting espionage activities while the US has sentenced a Chinese – American engineer, Chenguang Gong, over confirmed suspicions the individual collected sensitive information for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).
Impact: The US – China trade talks are becoming a multidimensional battlefront between the world’s two largest economies, looking to tackle multiple bilateral issues while confirming the interconnectedness between their powerful economic systems. The US, through the tariff impositions is aiming to reduce China’s industrial overcapacity and subdue its exponential growth in order to combat the future potential of Chinese global economic predominance. Issues such as China’s crackdown on minority groups, its consistent territorial ambitions towards Taiwan and the country’s indirect facilitation of illegal fentanyl trade aren’t expected to be immediately tackled, however, they remain part of the major bilateral sticking points which must be resolved in order for a comprehensive trade deal to be formulated. The timeframe of the extension, which is expected to be agreed in Stockholm, would dictate the upcoming negotiations climate between the US and China and would also demonstrate the level of intent from both sides in resolving the multiple bilateral issues.