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Pence Hits China on Rights, Signals Flexibility on Trade

Rob Garver

   WASHINGTON - U.S. trade representatives reported progress Friday in the
   latest discussions with China on a comprehensive trade agreement.

   "The two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement,"
   the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.

   The talks came a day after Vice President Mike Pence criticized China
   for its human rights record and flouting of international trade rules,
   but also suggested the Trump administration is willing to make some
   compromises of its own as it negotiates a possible end to the ongoing
   trade war between the world's two largest economies.

   With the trade war now in its second year, tensions between the two
   countries remain high. In remarks Thursday, the vice president ticked
   off a laundry list of U.S. concerns about Chinese behavior, from its
   suppression of the Uighur minority in its western Xinjiang Province, to
   attacks on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, to violation of
   international trade rules and more. He insisted that the two countries
   must work together toward a common future.

   "People sometimes ask whether the Trump administration seeks to
   'de-couple' from China," Pence said. "The answer is a resounding 'no.'
   The United States seeks engagement with China and China's engagement
   with the wider world, but engagement in a manner consistent with
   fairness, mutual respect, and the international rules of commerce."

   The speech, delivered at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, was a
   much-anticipated sequel to remarks the vice president delivered just
   over one year ago, which were widely interpreted as placing Washington
   on a new "Cold War" footing with Beijing. China's foreign ministry
   issued a blistering response on Friday, saying the U.S. should look to
   its own domestic problems, like gun violence, rather that critiquing
   China, Reuters reported.

   But with both countries' economies showing the strains of a trade fight
   that is slowing growth worldwide, some saw signs of change in Pence's
   remarks.

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