Experts see good news from latest round of China-U.S. trade talks

The latest round of China-U.S. economic and trade talks that just concluded on Thursday looks promising, U.S. experts have said.

Chinese and U.S. flags are set up for a meeting during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao at China's Ministry of Transport in Beijing, China April 27, 2018.[File Photo:Xinhua/REUTERS]

"No bad news is good news. Parties are not going to trumpet good news well in advance of the negotiating deadline," said Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Institute for China-America Studies.

Gupta said bad news leaks very fast and there has been very little of that, stressing that he remains cautiously optimistic about the trajectory and core outcome of the 90-day talks between China and the United States.

The tone of the White House statement issued on Thursday is respectful and further shows that a lot of preparatory work went into the meeting, said Gupta in an interview with Xinhua.

The overall tone of cooperation appears sincere, workman-like and forward-looking though differences in "structural issues" remain and need to be bridged, the expert said.

The trade talks between China and the United States are likely to be protracted and volatile given the nature of the issues under debate like intellectual property, market access and others, said Emerging Markets Chief Investment Officer at UBS Wealth Management Jorge O. Mariscal on Thursday.

However, the important thing for the markets is that both parties remain engaged in search of agreements, Mariscal told Xinhua.

Gupta added that China's plan to buy a large quantity of soybeans from the United States suggests that ample goodwill exists, and the parties feel that they are moving broadly on the right track.

Both parties want to preserve the past achievements in this renewed phase of dialogue kicked off by top Chinese and U.S. leaders at the beginning of December 2018, Gupta said.

Using credit guidelines from the U.S. credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings, institutional investors from around the world can invest in China's bond market and further promote China's internationalization, said Mariscal regarding China's approval of S&P Ratings (China) Co., Ltd entering the Chinese inter-bank bond market on Monday.

The Chinese bond market can be an important source of diversification in global portfolios, providing exposure to vast investment opportunities given the size and growth of its economy, Mariscal said. He added that the potential is very large for international investors to purchase Chinese bonds or issue RMB-denominated bonds.

Mariscal noted that the financial sector plays a key role in China's internationalization and that the country had been opening its economy and markets to the world even before the trade disputes began.

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He concluded a new round of two-day economic and trade talks on Thursday with U.S. negotiators led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.