US-China trade talks end: Western media pessimistic; Chinese pat Beijing’s back

While the western media did not air optimism over the just concluded trade talks between the delegations of the US and China in Beijing on Friday, May 4, saying there was "scant progress" with "no deal and no date set for further talks, as the United States stepped up its demands for Chinese concessions to avert a potential trade war", the Chinese media was not as disappointed about the two-day high-profile meeting and even praised Beijing over its strong show vis-à-vis the Americans.

China's Xinhua News Agency said the US and China had candid, efficient and constructive talks and sounded optimistic over a stable China-US trade relationship saying both were committed to settling their relevant economic and trade issues through dialogue.

China's Global Times patted on Beijing's back in an op-ed titled 'China shows maturity amid US trade demands' saying China remained firm and won the leverage to safeguard its interests.

"The results have been distinctly different from the initial unreasonable demands of the US. This is the result of China's countermeasures. The US voluntarily sent a delegation to Beijing, including all its major trade officials, in contrast with its 301 investigation and tariff threats on $100 billion worth of Chinese products.

Our high level delegation is on the way back from China where they had long meetings with Chinese leaders and business representatives. We will be meeting tomorrow to determine the results, but it is hard for China in that they have become very spoiled with U.S. trade wins!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2018

Sources close to the negotiations said Chinese delegates responded strongly to US demands in the past two days, standing firm on the moral high ground to safeguard free trade and a multilateral trade mechanism. China demonstrated its resolve to the US that China will never trade its core interests," the Global Times article said.

The op-ed said while the trade disputes between the two countries were seen as a "trade war" with the US taking an aggressive stand but China exhibited a "strong will and tenacity beyond the imagination of the US and the world".

It also said Beijing broke Washington's "psychological advantage and consolidated its position".

It said though the US and China could not arrive at an agreement to end the trade tussle but were willing to carry forward the talks.

While the US delegates were led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the Chinese were led by Vice Premier Liu He.