The announcement that the United States and China will meet in Switzerland this weekend to discuss their trade war is reason to celebrate. There is a long way to go before the world’s two largest economies will produce even a framework for a deal, but a readiness to talk is an essential prerequisite to any progress.
A solution demands that both governments abandon inaccurate assumptions and unrealistic expectations. A deal is possible if both sides compromise. The entire world will suffer from a prolonged U.S.-China trade war. Economic sanity and mutual respect must prevail.
Complaints about Chinese economic policies are longstanding and widespread. Many governments charge Beijing with unfair practices that tilt competition at home and abroad in favor of Chinese companies. U.S. President Donald Trump has issued the loudest complaints and pursued the most aggressive policy to address them. In the first weeks of his second term in office, his administration imposed tariffs as high as 145% on many Chinese imports and Beijing retaliated with import taxes of 125% on U.S. goods.
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