05/12/2017, 10.35
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Beijing and Washington agree on series of trade agreements, following past threats

by Wang Zhicheng

The US will be able to export liquid gas and beef; it wWill be able to enter the credit card market and issue credit certificates to their companies in China, with the possibility of receiving loans as well. China will be able to export pre-cooked chicken meat and Chinese banks will enter the American market. An "Herculean result". US Representatives will be present at One belt One road Forum in Beijing on May 14 and 15 next.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - China and the United States have reached a number of agreements, which appear to reduce the chances of a commercial war touted in the past before and after the election of Donald Trump as US President.

Such agreements include the possibility for Beijing to import liquid gas, beef and other products from the US; and for Washington to enter the Chinese financial services.

The deal follows the promise made a month ago in Florida between Trump and Xi Jinping to review the trade imbalance between the US and China, with Washington’s $ 350 billion debt.

US trade secretary Wilbur Ross greeted the deal as a "Herculean result", shaped in no time. "Usually - he said - business deals are drawn up over several years, not in dozens of days."

The most significant points of the agreement include:

            The US allows Chinese companies to buy liquid gas. The Energy Department has already             authorized shipments of 19.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per day to China and      other interested nations;

            Beijing will allow US credit card companies to enter the service sector, to now the             monopoly of Chinese UnionPay;

            Foreign companies in China will have access to credit;

            China will allow US companies to issue commercial securities in China;

            Beijing will abolish import restrictions on US beef, in place since 2003 after some cases of          "mad cow";

            The United States will facilitate the entry of Chinese banks into the US market;

            The Chinese will be allowed to sell pre-cooked poultry.

Prior to his election, Trump had accused China of being a "currency manipulator" and destroying many jobs in the US with its protected exports. Soon after, he even threatened not to recognize the principle of the "One China", going to support Taiwan. The threat was dropped just a few days before the visit of the Chinese president to his American counterpart.

Several analysts had warned of a possible trade war that would damage both countries, although several of them reiterated that the economies of the US and China are now interconnected, so it was necessary to agree.

As if to crown this new climate of agreement, the US has stated that they will send their representative to the "One belt One road (Obor)" Forum, to be held in Beijing on May 14 and 15. Obor plans to invest over $ 100 billion in Southeast Asian countries, Central Asia up to Europe to build a "new Silk Road". Before Washington viewed this project as an attempt to reduce US influence in the Asia Pacific region and Europe.

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