Economic negotiations between China, US launch in Geneva

GENEVA, May 10 (YPA) – High-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States began on Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland.

But ahead of the talks, China signed letters to purchase soybeans, corn, and vegetable oils from Argentine exporters, reflecting a clear move toward diversifying its agricultural import basket.

At the end of last April, a Brazilian delegation made an official visit to China as part of the effort to establish “sustainable, long-term, and practical cooperation with China to jointly address the current complex and serious international situation.” This was preceded by China’s signing, in early April, of a contract with Brazil to purchase at least 2.4 million tons of soybeans, representing about a third of its usual monthly imports of this commodity.

This move demonstrated that Beijing, in the critical phase preceding the Sino-US talks, gas been seeking to reduce its dependence on US products by expanding its trade relations with Latin American countries.

Despite the restrictions and high tariffs the United States imposed, official data indicated that China’s foreign trade performed better than expected in April. China’s exports to the United States fell by 21%, while overall exports rose by 8.1% year-on-year.

Looking at the overall moves during the first four months of this year, it appeared that the annual increase in China’s exports to non-US countries was almost 20 times greater than the percentage decline in its exports to the United States.

AA