#SikkimStandoff: China's hope for US support dims over trade disagreement
What's the story
The annual US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington ended in a deadlock after American negotiators demanded an end to the burgeoning trade deficit created by Chinese exporters. A joint press conference scheduled to be held following the dialogue was abruptly cancelled. The move comes as China's hopes at getting Western support for the Sikkim standoff with Indian troops fades.
Quote
Expert: 'Nothing achieved' in US-China talks
"The press conference was canceled becaUSe there was nothing to say. Nothing has been achieved in specific terms," Sourabh Gupta of the Institute of China America Studies in Washington told TOI. "The US came down very hard on China and I think China balked."
Trade standoff
US slams China over widening deficit, dumping of goods
The Trump administration has regularly criticized China for dumping steel and other goods causing job losses to Americans. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said America's $347 billion trade deficit with China arises from the absence of a "fair, equitable and reciprocal" bilateral relationship, not natural market forces. Ross wants to "create more balance in our trade by increasing exports of made-in-America goods to China."
Information
Top Chinese official's statement doesn't indicate specific positive outcomes
Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang, who attended the bilateral talks, highlighted the importance of cooperation and strong US-China ties in general terms but didn't report any specific outcomes to the negotiations.
Explained
Strained US-China relations good for India
The recent round of US-China talks indicate strained bilateral relations. US President Donald Trump was also recently frustrated at China's inability to reign in North Korea's continued nuclear weapons and missile program. This would make it more difficult for China to persuade Washington and its Western allies that India is the aggressor in the ongoing border standoff in Doklam near Sikkim.