U.S. Trade Rep Vows to Pressure China Beyond 'Phase One' Deal

The Biden administration is set to resume negotiations with Beijing as part of its long-awaited strategy for handling trade with China.

"In the coming days, I intend to have frank conversations with my counterpart in China," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Monday at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

She is expected to speak to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, calling on China to respect the "phase one" trade agreement it signed with Washington under former President Donald Trump.

...

"The speech was remarkable in terms of its pessimism about the existing toolkit that the US has, in terms of dealing with some of the Chinese distorted trade practices," said Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow focusing on the U.S.-China economic relationship at the Center for a New American Security.

Tai did not offer much in the way of concrete solutions to address these institutional failures, but said that unlike in the past, the Biden administration's focus on domestic investment puts it in a position of strength.

Read the full story and more from Nikkei Asia.