China responded with retaliatory tariffs on US products – particularly affecting American farmers.
Key US demands were greater access to China’s markets, broad reform of a business playing field that heavily favours Chinese firms, and a loosening of heavy state control by Beijing.
After long, fraught negotiations the two sides agreed what became known as the “phase one” trade deal – a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old trade war.
Under that agreement, Beijing agreed to import US$200 billion worth of US goods, including US$32 billion in farm products and seafood.
But in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and a US recession, analysts say Beijing fell well short of that commitment.
“In the end, China bought only 58 per cent of the US exports it had committed to purchase under the agreement, not even enough to reach its import levels from before the trade war,” PIIE’S Chad P Brown wrote.
“Put differently, China bought none of the additional US$200 billion of exports Trump’s deal had promised.”
