CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. and China asked one another to make sweeping concessions in trade talks, failing to bridge sharp divisions and raising the chances that each government will slap tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of the other country’s exports before settling the dispute. Top economic officials on both sides sat down for two days of talks this week after exchanging lists that contained sizeable demands. The U.S. asked China to cut its trade surplus by $200 billion, for example, while the Chinese officials sought to get Washington to ease national-security reviews of Chinese investments. Instead of reaching common ground, the talks ended inconclusively Friday [5-4-18]. Planned meetings of U.S. officials with President Xi Jinping and Vice President Wang Qishan didn’t materialize. The U.S. delegation left Beijing without comment or agreement with Chinese officials on a joint statement…U.S. President Donald Trump sent his senior economic team—including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer —to look for progress. As it headed to Beijing, the U.S. officials issued an eight-point plan on trade and investment, which largely amounts to a request for China to change the way it manages the economy.”
-Lingling Wei, “U.S. and China Make Scant Progress in Trade Talks,” The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2018 1:56 pm