Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported yesterday (13th) that China is considering sending high-level officials to the United States to discuss trade issues in order to reach a consensus with Washington.In addition to Vice Premier Liu He is expected to go to the United States soon to start the second Sino-US trade negotiations, observers also believe that Vice President Wang Qishan may use his firefighting skills to go to the United States at the end of June or early July.
The report quoted a source familiar with the situation as saying that Liu He is mainly responsible for negotiating with the United States on specific trade issues, while Wang Qishan will seek to maintain a smooth dialogue between China and the United States on various issues at the strategic level.
The report also said that in addition to easing Sino-US trade tensions, another purpose of Wang Qishan is to dispel US concerns about the Chinese government's support for scientific research investment.
Still, Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China and an adviser to the Chinese government, said that while Wang Qishan has friends in the United States, his task will be challenging because the Trump administration does not welcome those friends.
He said: No matter who goes to negotiate, there will not be any substantive breakthroughs, only partial compromises are possible to reduce the scale of the conflict.
Shi Yinhong also said: Trade conflicts are about status, and technology is very important to China's strategic development.In the end, the United States will take less severe measures than it has threatened, but they will still be intolerable to China.
Previously, the negotiations between China and the United States in Beijing did not achieve a breakthrough. At that time, the New York Times reported that Chinese negotiators may still visit the United States next month for further dialogue.One possibility is whether China will send Wang Qishan to visit the United States.
In addition, as early as when Wang Qishan was elected vice president of the country in March, the British Financial Times published an article stating that Wang Qishan will face one of the biggest challenges in his long career, that is, to manage the most severe downward trend in Sino-US relations in the past 30 years.. Bloomberg: China resumes review of Qualcomm-NXP deal
Bloomberg today (14th) quoted unnamed sources as saying that China has resumed its review of the US chip maker Qualcomm's planned acquisition of NXP Semiconductors for US$44 billion (S$58.608 billion).
Reuters quoted the report as saying that China's Ministry of Commerce had been asked to expedite a review of the deal and the measures Qualcomm plans to take to protect local companies.
Local companies have expressed concern that the deal could extend Qualcomm's patent licensing business to areas such as mobile payments and autonomous driving, the report added.
Bloomberg did not say who asked the Commerce Department to expedite the review or what Qualcomm was proposing.
Qualcomm resubmitted its application for merger review in April, giving regulators more time to make a decision.
China's Ministry of Commerce said later in April that Qualcomm needed to do more to complete the deal because the initial remedies proposed to address competition issues were insufficient.
Bloomberg quoted sources as saying that the transaction may not be approved by China and may be delayed.
