Ambassador Curtis Chin says in U.S.-China trade negotiations the ball remains in China's court. A more balanced U.S.-China relationship will be to the betterment of both countries.
Quotes from the interview:
“I was listening to Nancy’s interview with Secretary of Treasury Mnuchin, and that phrase, “perfectly happy” stuck out. But indeed the ball remains firmly in China’s court whether or not they want to continue this negotiation to a deal that quite frankly is for the betterment of both China and the United States. A more sustainable relationship and a more rebalanced relationship between these two great nations.”
“I think we have to be hopeful. Again it remains very much in the interest of the United States and China’s interest to move forward and moving forward will mean addressing some fundamental and very real concerns that the United States has about China’s long-term business behavior. When you look at surveys, say from the American Chambers of Commerce in Beijing, the European Chambers of Commerce in China, it’s very clear there remains a tremendous concern about force technology transfers. Again we should take a step back and look at the fundamental issues that are really driving this process between these two nations.”
“I don’t want to play the blame game that it seems so many are playing these days but who threw that first stone? Again why are we at this situation? We need to look at the relationship between the U.S. and China that is no longer balanced. What was acceptable for a poor, developing nation like China to do ten, twenty years ago is not acceptable today. And I think not just the United States but much of Asia knows that. With regards to Mexico I think it’s very clear again that President Trump, for him, tariffs are not the end game, tariffs are a tactic to get a more balanced relationship, and again, a more balanced U.S.-China relationship will be to the betterment of both China and the United States and I think that’s the key message here.”
Curtis S. Chin served as U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He currently serves at the Milken Institute as Asia fellow and is a managing director at the advisory firm RiverPeak Group LLC.