MNI POLICY: Phase-1 Deal with US Must End Some Tariffs: China

     BEIJING (MNI) - China has again asserted that the U.S. drops its tariffs

weapon, reiterating that the phase-one deal to end the trade spat currently

being brokered needs to include an agreed degree of tariffs removed. 

     "If the two sides reach a phase-one agreement, the degree of the tariffs

removed should sufficiently reflect the significance of the phase-one

agreement," Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said Thursday in a short

response to a question on President Donald Trump's apparent refusal to roll back

at least some of the tariffs imposed since the trade war started. 

     "This significance should be decided by both sides, and the two sides are

in in-depth discussions over this matter," Gao said. China is willing to, on

equal and respectful basis, resolve well each other's core concerns and create

conditions for a phase-one agreement, Gao said. 

     "China has repeatedly emphasized that the trade war began by adding

tariffs, and it should end by removing added tariffs. This is an important

condition for two sides to reach an agreement," Gao said. Doing so is in the

interests of both sides, not one, he added. 

     --RCEP

     Gao also tried to downplay the significance of China's push for the

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free-trade agreement as a

countermeasure to the soured trade relationship with the U.S. 

     The largely-concluded RCEP was actively pushed by each member, Gao said.

"It's not a temporary solution in answer to the changing external environment,"

he said. As the world's biggest free-trade zone, RCEP will stimulate potential

regional economic and trade cooperation, and China doesn't believe that the

strong should dominate the weak, he said. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$A$$$,M$Q$$$,MC$$$$,MI$$$$,MT$$$$,MBQ$$$]