May 04, 2018
U.S. talks trade with China amid broader strategic disengagement
The Trump administration’s senior economic team just wrapped up talks in Beijing to address rising U.S.–China tensions. These talks appear to have amounted largely to an exchange of views, with China, unsurprisingly, evincing little willingness to immediately address the bilateral trade deficit with the United States or curb its mercantilist economic approach.
The bottom line: The inconclusive results should not obscure a new direction in U.S. relations with China: disengagement.
In retrospect, the end of the Obama administration may represent the high-water mark of U.S.-China ties.
- Beijing’s bilateral trade with Washington reached roughly $578 billion in 2016, up from around $116 billion in 2000, while Chinese annual direct investment in the United States over the same period surged from $68 million to more than $45 billion.
Read the Full Article at Axios
More from CNAS
-
The U.S. and India–Pakistan Tensions with Lisa Curtis | The Ballpark Podcast
To discuss the US’ part in brokering a ceasefire, and the US’ responses to disputes between India and Pakistan over the past three decades, in June 2025 the Phelan US Centre s...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Quad: The Next Phase
Executive Summary The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) among the United States, Australia, India, and Japan is becoming the focal point for economic and technological co...
By Lisa Curtis, Kareen Hart, Ryan Claffey, Keerthi Martyn & Thomas Corel
-
America’s Middle East Trap is China’s Strategic Windfall
China’s approach to any escalation in the Middle East reflects its broader strategy of free-riding on U.S. security commitments....
By Adham Sahloul
-
U.S.-Japan Relations Under the Trump Administration 2.0
In this thought-provoking discussion, Richard Fontaine, CEO of CNAS and co-author of “Lost Decade”; and Ken Jimbo, president of Asia Pacific Initiative at the International Ho...
By Richard Fontaine