Declining US-China Trade Trend Hard To Reverse - Global Times

The Global Times reports on the 18 months of tariff wars between the US and China and argues that, "even with a "phase one" trade deal, the downtrend in bilateral trade will be difficult to reverse."

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It has been 18 months since the US began imposing 25 percent tariffs on the first tranche of Chinese goods, and bilateral trade between the world's two largest economies is still sliding. The General Administration of Customs showed that China's trade with the US fell 11.1 percent year-on-year to 3.4 trillion yuan ($483 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, widening from a 10.6-percent decline in the first 10 months.

Even with a "phase one" trade deal, the downtrend in bilateral trade will be difficult to reverse. Meanwhile, China's total trade actually expanded 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months, indicating that trade with the US is not irreplaceable for China. 

More to come...