US-China
Washington and Beijing began formal negotiations towards a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in June 2008. A year later, the highly sensitive talks were halted until July 2013. The US is interested in getting Chinese restrictions on foreign ownership in about 100 sectors — from soybean oil and automobiles to life insurance and other financial services — lifted for US companies which want to expand their market presence there. The Chinese government is interested in getting more security for highly-scrutinised Chinese investments in the US and its massive holdings of US sovereign debt ($1.3 trillion).
In late 2013, China agreed to initiate talks on a possible BIT with the European Union as well.
July 2014
Articles
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10-May-2019 Reuters How US-China talks differ from any other trade deal
The Trump administration imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods to try to force changes in China’s trade, subsidy and intellectual property practices. -
13-Mar-2019 New York Times Lighthizer casts doubts on China trade talks as ‘major issues’ go unresolved
President Trump’s top trade negotiator raised doubts that a trade agreement with China was within reach, while also aiming to negotiate trade deals with Europe and Japan. -
16-Aug-2018 Diplomatic Courier Losing the Pacific: The futility of re-joining TPP
Amid rising tensions in the US-China bilateral relationship and increasing fears of a now-realized trade war, President Donald Trump announced that he would consider rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). -
29-Jun-2018 China Daily China to keep close tabs on US investment strategy
China will keep a close watch on the strategy adopted by the United States vis-a-vis inbound investments and continue to oppose the use of national security to limit foreign investments, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. -
22-May-2018 The Progressive Farmer US-China talk about beef
Following a 2003 ban on US beef due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, China has allowed boneless US beef from cattle under 30 months back in since last June. -
23-Apr-2018 Business Mirror ‘US-China trade war to slow Asean’s economic progress’
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not take the brewing trade conflict between the United States and China sitting down, as the regional bloc will urge the two economies to shun protectionism in favor of free trade at its 32nd summit this week. -
12-Apr-2018 Athens Review Trade war with China could stunt Texas agriculture, economy
he prospect of a trade war with China may seem far off, but US proposals to steeply raise tariffs on its goods, along with the Chinese response, could hit Texans close to home. -
6-Apr-2018 Bloomberg US needs China more than China needs the US
Not one to be outdone by any adversary, Donald Trump has upped the ante in a rapidly escalating trade war with China, threatening an additional $100 billion of tariffs on top of the initial round of $50 billion. In doing so, the Trump administration is failing to appreciate a crucial reality: The United States needs China more than China needs the US. -
14-Mar-2018 Global Times US-China ties wobble as trade war escalates
Since China began its reform and opening-up in late 1970s, growing trade and investment ties have been a key pillar of Sino-US relations. But US President Donald Trump’s recently imposed 25 percent steel tariffs and 10 percent aluminum tariffs on China and others exporting those goods to the US is just the start of nationalist economic policies that not only strain US-China ties, but put the entire global trade regime at risk. -
26-Oct-2017 Straits Times US to seek ’good faith’ agreements with China, says US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
US President Donald Trump will seek "tangible" agreements on trade with China when he visits the country, but results on key issues such as market access may take longer. -
21-Jul-2017 Bloomberg The US can now ship rice to China for the first time
The rice deal comes just a month after China reopened its market to US beef imports for the first time in more than a decade and is the latest in a flurry of trade negotiations between the nations. China is also approving more biotech products and increasing US natural gas imports. -
21-Jul-2017 Reuters US, China fail to agree on trade issues, casting doubt on other issues
The United States and China failed on Wednesday to agree on major new steps to reduce the US trade deficit with China, casting doubt over President Trump’s economic and security relations with Beijing. -
18-Jul-2017 Xinhua What’s at stake at China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue?
Experts said the upcoming dialogue will be a good chance for negotiation on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). -
15-Jun-2017 IATP Trump’s agricultural trade policy with China: trade-offs or trade disputes?
Biotech companies will join Cargill and Tyson as the main beneficiaries of U.S.-China agricultural trade policy. -
13-May-2017 Reuters FACTBOX-U.S.-China trade agreement impacts meats, natural gas
The United States and China have agreed to take action to expand bilateral trade in beef and chicken as well as taking other steps as part of Washington’s drive to narrow the U.S. trade deficit with China. -
13-May-2017 BBC US and China sign trade agreement
The US and China have reached a 10-point trade deal that opens the Chinese market to US credit rating agencies and credit card companies. -
19-Apr-2017 Bloomberg Trump’s deficit crusade overshadows Xi’s investment treaty pitch
Trump wants to have something that can be delivered very quickly, whereas China hopes to push forward the BIT, which will set the framework in years to come. -
11-Apr-2017 CCTV La Chine attend des progrès des négociations sur le traité d’investissement avec les Etats-Unis
La Chine est prête à travailler avec les Etats-Unis pour faire avancer les négociations sur le traité bilatéral d’investissement, a déclaré lundi le Premier ministre chinois. -
11-Apr-2017 Reuters China offers concessions to avert trade war with U.S.: FT
China is prepared to raise the investment ceiling in the bilateral Investment treaty and is also willing to end the ban on U.S. beef imports. -
7-Nov-2016 Forbes U.S., China rushing investment treaty at end of Obama term
Negotiations on the proposed bilateral investment treaty, BIT as it is commonly known, are continuing at an accelerated pace, with new rounds only two weeks apart.
