Optimism Growing for Resolution in Chinese Trade Standoff

(WASHINGTON, DC) President Donald Trump told reporters that progress has been made toward a trade deal with China. On the news, U.S. markets rallied Friday as the Dow gained 336 points or 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 1 percent. All three major indexes surged almost 3 percent for on the week. The current trade war with China has both sides applying tariffs to imported products. Progress could come as soon as next week when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He travels to Washington for the next round of trade negotiations. His trip follows lower-level negotiations held in Beijing earlier this month toward resolving the bitter dispute between the world’s two largest economies by March 2, when the Trump administration is scheduled to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. According to Reuters, the United States is pushing for regular reviews of China’s progress on pledged trade reforms as a condition for a trade deal—and could again resort to tariffs if it deems Beijing has violated the agreement. According to Bloomberg, China has offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from the United States, by a combined value of more than $1 trillion. China would seek to reduce its trade surplus—which last year stood at $323 billion—to zero by 2024. The Epoch Times reports that Beijing has shown signs of willingness to make concessions due to its worsening economic conditions. Recent economic indicators continue to show bad signs. Analysts are predicting that China’s 2018 GDP will hit a 28-year low.