US-China Trade Deal In Jeopardy After Phase 1 Target Missed

China hopes the United States will provide conditions to improve bilateral trade, after Chinese purchases of US goods have failed to reach targets set by the Trump administration.

• “Phase 1” of the trade agreement required China to increase purchases of US goods by USD$200 billion during 2020 and 2021, compared to 2017 levels. Data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics suggests that China has only reached 60% of the target through November 2021.
• Seemingly contradictory statements from Chinese officials this week have described the relationship as both ‘in normal communication’, and ‘in a stalemate.’
• There will be considerable work ahead of President Joe Biden's administration if they are to savage the trade deal. During Biden’s presidency there has been a shift away from the ‘economics first’ policies of Donald Trump. Biden has been more vocal in criticism of China’s domestic human rights record and foreign policy positions regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea. This shift in diplomatic tack may be an obstacle to the US-China trade deal achieving its goals.