US President Donald Trump will likely time reaching a trade agreement with China just ahead of the 2020 presidential vote in order to get reelected, David Ewing of the US-China People's Friendship Association told Sputnik
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2019) US President Donald Trump will likely time reaching a trade agreement with China just ahead of the 2020 presidential vote in order to get reelected, David Ewing of the US-China People's Friendship Association told Sputnik.
"I think there will be a deal reached because it's causing too much harm, too much pain for Americans. I think it - part of president Trump's strategy is to make a trade deal," Ewing said. "You know, everything is political when you're the president, and the president needs to make a political deal on trade in order to win the election. He may time it into the future, closer to November - the November election is pretty far off. That's probably when I think he will do it."
Trump said at the G20 Summit in Japan last weekend said that he would resume trade talks with China but would not lift tariffs on Chinese imports yet. Trump also said he would allow American companies to sell their equipment to Chinese tech giant Huawei if this did not threaten US national security.
Ewing said Washington should move to a trade accommodation with China considering the international nature of the supply chain.
"No modern economy can function independent from the rest of the world," he explained. "Certainly, not the economy as complex as the US' or as complex as China's. So both China and the US will prosper if there is a trade agreement. And both sides should move towards that."
Ewing believes that while China wants to accommodate the United States Beijing is also concerned about its sovereignty.
"China cannot accept American demands that would have an impact on Chinese independence or Chinese initiatives - for example, the protection of Chinese territory in the South China Sea, which China has a very strong claim to," he noted.
Ewing argued that imposing tariffs is not a good approach to settling trade issues.
"Big companies like Apple are so integrated in the Chinese economy that they will be harmed by trade sanctions. There are plenty of retaliatory things that China could do if the US aggressively pushes more trade restrictions," he continued.
Ewing continued to say that the United States should resolve the issues with Huawei, stressing that an extradition of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou would derail the trade negotiations with China.
"I think it's raising the stakes a lot and it's creating a barrier to trade negotiations when the US does things like use the threat of legal action against Chinese business people," he added. "It's just an inappropriate way and I know that the Chinese are reacting very strongly to it. And there's a lot that they can do. And I think it won't turn out to be an effective negotiating technique for President Trump."
Ewing continued to say that at the 5G technology, Huawei is "really the best right now."
"So many countries want to use it. I think it's smart for president Trump to [say] okay, you can use it. Because even in England, in London - British have decided that they will use Huawei technology," he explained. "It's just better and cheaper."
The part of the supply chain for Huawei are big American microchip processors who have been harmed lately by the restriction on export.
The United States and China have been trying to overcome disagreements that emerged in the wake of Trump's decision last June to impose the 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Since then, the two sides have exchanged several rounds of tariffs.
