Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the first phase of a trade deal struck between the United States and China, Chinese state media have kept their news coverage to a minimum, simply noting that the deal was “prudent” and a sign of progress.
He said both sides have agreed to addressing intellectual property theft and allowing U.S. financial services into the Chinese market, but he didn’t elaborate. He also said China promised to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods. In exchange, the United States would suspend a tariff hike on Chinese goods that was to take effect this week.
While U.S. media widely reported on the 37-minute White House press conference, Chinese state-run media Xinhua only reported about the talks in three short sentences.
The report didn’t mention that the United States and China had reached a partial trade deal, only noting that “both parties discussed the follow-up arrangements, and agreed to work together in the direction of reaching a final agreement.”
At the end, the article summarizes Trump’s words at the presser; both sides would soon draft a “phase-one agreement.”
Most Chinese media didn’t report on China’s commitment to buy more U.S. agricultural goods.
State broadcaster CCTV did note in an Oct. 12 report that bilateral trade in agriculture fit both countries’ interests, noting that 90 percent of the soybeans that China consumes are imported from foreign countries, and that the country is in need of pork, because of the African swine fever epidemic that has decimated local hog populations.
Almost all Chinese media used the word “prudent” to describe their expectations about future trade talks.
The Economy Daily article further stated that because both sides have still enacted tariffs on each other’s goods, the confrontation “has not changed.”
The article noted that Beijing’s ultimate goal is for all U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to be canceled.
“Fighting, while also negotiating, will be the norm [for U.S.–China trade talks],” it said.
