China, US sign USD253.4b more deals

Trump and Xi attend a business event at the Great Hall of the People

China yesterday signed business deals it said totaled USD253.4 billion with American companies during President Donald Trump’s visit in a tradition aimed at blunting criticism of Beijing’s trade policies.

The agreements, some of which were less than firm contracts, signed at a ceremony attended by Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, included the purchase of U.S.-made chipsets, jetliners and soybeans. The two sides agreed to cooperate on a gas project in Alaska they valued at $43 billion and a shale gas demonstration project valued at $83.7 billion.

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said deals signed uyesterday totaled $253.4 billion. That was on top of $9 billion in agreements signed Wednesday at an event attended by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Such contract signings are a fixture of visits to Beijing by foreign leaders and are intended to defuse foreign complaints about China’s trade surpluses and market barriers. They often represent purchases Chinese mobile phone makers, airlines and other customers already planned to make that are collected for the visit, which would mean they do little to change the trade balance.

Trump has made narrowing the U.S. trade deficit with China — $347 billion last year — a priority. Ross said that was a “central focus” of his talks with Xi.

The American Chamber of Commerce in China said ahead of Trump’s visit that it welcomed such contracts but expressed concern Trump’s focus on trade in goods might mean he pays less attention to equally important issues such as complaints about restrictions on access to finance, health care and other industries in China’s state-dominated economy.

Following the signing ceremony, Xi promised a more open business environment for foreign companies after Trump vowed to change unfair trade relations.

Xi said China is committed to further opening its economy to foreign investment, though he gave no details.

“China will not close its doors and will open even wider,” said Xi. He said American and other foreign companies would find China’s market “more open, more transparent and more orderly.”

Previous administrations have celebrated similar market-opening promises only to be left disappointed.

Contracts signed yesterday included the Chinese purchase of Boeing Co. jetliners for $37 billion, mobile phone chipsets from Qualcomm for $12 billion, $1.6 billion of soybeans and vehicles and parts from General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. for a total of $11.7 billion. AP