Chinese state media cautiously welcomes US trade deal

ANKARA

The Chinese state media on Thursday said the first part of the U.S.-China trade deal should be “cherished” by both sides.

In its editorial, Global Times, a local daily, however, said the trade agreement will never be a zero-sum game.

“This full-fledged trade war waged by the US had at times made the two sides ‘see red’,” the Chinese daily wrote. “But it was stopped by the phase one agreement before causing any deadly consequences for either side. This shows that both China and the US are clear-minded,” it added.

The U.S. and China signed "phase one" trade deal Wednesday that marks a major milestone in more than two-year trade war between the world's top two economies.

The agreement was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during a White House ceremony attended by droves of government officials and business leaders.

The Global Times admitted that the two sides “definitely have some regrets about the phase one agreement and are not so satisfied”.

However, Trump called the initial pact a "momentous step, one that has never been taken before with China" during marathon remarks in the East Room.

An analysis piece for the the Global Times, however, referred to upcoming U.S. presidential elections as a trigger behind Trump’s insistence on a trade deal.

“With the presidential election kicking off this year, US President Donald Trump wants a deal that wins him more votes in agricultural, energy, industry and services-sector states,” the analysis said.

Calling for adherence to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, it cautioned that the implementation of the phase one trade agreement should not be just one-way.

“If China agrees to specific purchases including semiconductor in the phase one trade deal, it will involve companies like Huawei - whether the U.S. allows suppliers to sell devices to Huawei? If the US does not, how could the specific purchases be reached?” it questioned.

In May last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that Chinese telecom giant Huawei is added to its "entity list" which effectively banned the U.S. companies from doing business with the company without approval.

Debating “about who had lost or gained is shallow,” the editorial said, adding: “Such debates are often exaggerated for certain political goals.”

“The future is unpredictable, but it is clear that the Chinese and the US markets, and the global market all welcome the phase one trade agreement. This is more real than political voices and public opinion, because real trade speaks for itself,” the daily wrote.