INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Vice Premier Liu He and President Donald Trump talk to the press about trade
China's trade delegation says it made "important progress" in the latest round of talks with the US, China's state media reports.At the
end of a two-day meeting in Washington, no deal was reached but China pledged to buy more US soybeans.US President Donald Trump touted the
promise as proof that the two sides were making progress.They are pushing to reach a deal by 1 March to avert an escalation in tariffs
At a press conference with Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday, President Trump said he hoped to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to hash out a
final agreement by the looming deadline."We have made tremendous progress," President Trump said."That doesn't mean you're going to have a
deal but there's a tremendous relationship and a warm feeling."China also agreed to increase imports of "US agricultural products, energy
products, industrial manufactured goods and service products" during the talks, Xinhua reported.Is this progressThe two sides are racing to
come up with a trade deal by 1 March, or the US has said it will increase tariff rates on $200bn (£152bn) worth of Chinese goods from 10%
to 25%.US trade negotiators agreed to visit China for more discussions in mid-February, Chinese state media reported
In December, the two countries agreed to 90 days of negotiations, in an effort to defuse their escalating trade war, which had led to new
tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods.Soybean pledge Shortly after the truce took effect, China - by far the world's biggest
importer of soybeans - bought 1.13 million tonnes of the crop from the US.The White House said on Thursday the country had agreed to
purchase an additional 5 million tonnes of soybeans
Soybeans have been at the forefront of negotiations as US farmers have suffered from the sudden loss of their largest customer
The country imported more than 30 million tonnes of soybeans from the US in 2017 - a figure that dropped sharply last year amid the trade
war.Image copyrightGetty ImagesChinese businesses, meanwhile, have been trying to find new sources to replace crops from the US, which was
the country's second biggest supplier after Brazil in 2017
Analysis: What China wants Robin Brant, TheIndianSubcontinent News, Shanghai China's state media has painted these talks as "progress" based
on the offer of measures or reforms that China wants to see, or needs
These are not concessions, but steps that are in line with reform and opening up already planned by President Xi
What politicians call the retail takeaway - in this case it literally is one - of buying more soybeans from American farmers went down well
China would probably like a deal with the President Trump
A deal that the lead US negotiator, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, will sign off on is likely to involve verifiable, structural
China is far less likely to concede that
China would rather simply buy more soybeans and other goods or services to help President Trump fulfil his campaign pledge to deal with the
trade imbalance between the two countries
What happens next Mr Lighthizer said he was focused on securing a enforceable deal
He warned that many issues remained unresolved.The US pressed for changes on intellectual property laws and rules that limit the operations
of foreign companies in China, both of which have been key sticking points in negotiations.The two sides "attached great importance to the
issues of intellectual property protection and technology transfer and agreed to further strengthen cooperation", according to Xinhua."We've
made progress," Mr Lighthizer said
"At this point, it's impossible for me to predict success but we are in a place that, if things work, it could happen."
