China's Annual Trade Surplus With U.S. Hits Record Despite Trump's Tariff Offensive

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Har tip, Jacob Wohl

WORLD | ASIA | CHINA
China’s Annual Trade Surplus With U.S. Hits Record Despite Trump’s Tariff Offensive
China posted a trade surplus of $323.32 billion with the U.S. in 2018

Jan. 13, 2019 11:26 p.m. ET

BEIJING—China’s trade surplus with the U.S. hit a record last year, as robust American demand for Chinese goods undercut the Trump administration’s tariff offensive aimed at narrowing the countries’ lopsided trade gap. ... China recorded $323.32 billion in surplus with the U.S. in 2018, representing a 17% jump from the figure in the previous year, according to Chinese government trade data released Monday.

Abetting the record imbalance were a healthy American economy and a weakening Chinese one, some economists and analysts said, which in turn fed U.S. demand for imports and damped demand in China. The Trump administration’s phased deadlines for tariffs, along with threats of more for this year, also sent Chinese exporters racing to fill orders, and a weakening Chinese currency kept the prices of those goods competitive.

The latest data shows “how the tariffs affected the trading behavior of exporters who accelerated their shipments,” said Liu Yaxin, an analyst at China Merchants Securities . Both exports and imports are likely to slow at least for the first half of the year, Ms. Liu said, as frontloading effects vanish and domestic economic growth slows.
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U.S. and Chinese negotiators are trying to hammer out an agreement by March 1 to help ease the trade conflict. During the latest round of talks, which took place in Beijing last week, midlevel negotiators on both sides narrowed their differences on purchases of U.S. goods and services and widening access to China’s markets, according to people briefed on the talks. Such steps would attempt to address President Trump’s concerns about the bilateral trade gap.

The two sides remain divided on a number of more challenging issues such as Beijing’s subsidies to domestic firms and better protection of American intellectual property. Both sides are preparing for the next round of negotiations in Washington at the end of this month, between cabinet-level officials including Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
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—Liyan Qi and Xiao Xiao

Appeared in the January 14, 2019, print edition as 'China’s Trade Gap With U.S. Widens.'

[msongs]

1. americans would rather be unemployed and homeless than stop buying china stuff nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Hold my Dell and watch this. NT

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. China's trade surplus with the US hit a record $324bn in 2018, according to new figures.

Donny Ferguson 🗽 Retweeted

China's trade surplus with the US hit a record $324bn in 2018, according to new figures. Or about 28% higher than Obama's last year as president.

Link to tweet