China and U.S. Seek to Narrow Trade Gap for Trump

U.S. and Chinese negotiators are meeting this week to discuss terms of trade agreements to be decided upon at a potential summit. Negotiators are seeking to find the balance between what China is willing to offer and what Trump is willing to accept. Representatives on both sides have been meeting in preparation for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The deadline for a meeting is March 1st which means that after that deadline has passed, tariffs on Chinese goods will increase 15%. Trump expressed last week that he was not necessarily willing to meet before the March 1st deadline. China is reluctant to give into U.S. pressures to decrease the role of the state in its economy, such as government subsidies to state-owned companies. Decreasing regulation such as this would level the playing field for U.S. business expansion into China. Issues that the U.S. faces in any sort of agreement is concern over enforcement of the agreed upon terms. Both sides are feeling the effects of the trade war and a truce won't last unless both sides realize no one wins in a trade war.