The first phase of the economic and trade agreement was officially signed On the morning of January 15, local time, the signing ceremony of the first phase of the China-US economic and trade agreement was held in the East Room of the White House. US President Trump issued a statement at the White House on Wednesday, stating that the agreement allowed China to “take an unprecedented major step towards a future of fair and reciprocal trade.” He said he plans to visit China and meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the near future. He said that Xi was "a very, very good friend." Liu He read out Xi Jinping’s letter, saying that China will open up in a larger direction, calling on China and the United States to maintain a healthy and stable relationship, and development is in the interests of both sides, emphasizing that this requires joint efforts by both sides. , The United States and China meet each other halfway, and Xi is willing to maintain close contact with Trump. It is worth noting that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that although the agreement cuts US tariffs on approximately US$120 billion of Chinese products to 7.5%, it still imposes tariffs on approximately US$380 billion of Chinese imports. Within 30 days after the first phase of the agreement comes into effect, the United States will decide whether to reduce tariffs on US$120 billion of Chinese goods from 15% to 7.5%. Trump said: "We will continue to impose tariffs, but if we can proceed to the second stage, I will agree to cancel these tariffs." Chinese experts believe that after nearly two years of arduous negotiations, China and the United States finally reached the first stage of economic and trade The agreement embodies the principle of win-win cooperation. It is beneficial to China, the United States, and the world. It can effectively stabilize the market and stabilize expectations. It is in the interests of all parties and is also in line with China's overall expansion of opening up. The conclusion of the agreement has pushed China-US economic and trade relations back on track, and has provided a model for countries around the world in dealing with economic and trade frictions. China has always insisted that differences and frictions must ultimately be resolved through dialogue and consultation. The signing of the agreement means that initial progress has been made in dialogue and consultation, but this is only part of the process of solving the problem. It is understood that the text of the first phase of the Sino-US economic and trade agreement includes nine chapters: preamble, intellectual property rights, technology transfer, food and agricultural products, financial services, exchange rate and transparency, trade expansion, bilateral evaluation and dispute settlement, and final clauses. At the same time, the two sides reached an agreement that the United States will fulfill its commitment to phased out additional tariffs on Chinese products and realize the transition from rising to falling tariffs. Attachment: The China-US Phase One Agreement (Chinese translation) PDF Some analysts pointed out that in the short term, the signing of the economic and trade agreement has greatly reduced the uncertainty in the economic outlook, will increase market sentiment, and will be conducive to the recovery of the global economy. In the medium and long term, the economic and trade agreement will promote the healthy development of my country's financial system and capital market, stimulate technological innovation, and support China's potential economic growth in terms of increasing financial opening and protecting intellectual property rights. US$200 billion worth of US goods will be purchased in the next two years. CNBC’s report pointed out that as part of the first phase of the trade agreement, China agreed to purchase another US$200 billion worth of US goods in the next two years. According to the report, China purchased US$186 billion worth of US goods and services in 2017, and the additional US$200 billion in purchases this time was determined on the basis of 2017 US exports to China. According to the agreement, China will purchase 77 billion U.S. dollars in additional goods and services in 2020 and 123 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to meet the total demand of 200 billion U.S. dollars. According to the agreement, the scope of the purchase of goods includes four categories of industrial products, agricultural products, energy products and services. Among them, the purchase amount of industrial products accounts for the highest proportion. The composition of USD 200 billion commodities (including but not limited to): Industrial products (including industrial equipment, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, vehicles and optical instruments): USD 32.9 billion in 2020 and USD 44.8 billion in agricultural products (including oil seeds, Meat, grains, cotton and seafood): USD 12.5 billion in 2020 and USD 19.5 billion in 2021 Energy products (including liquefied natural gas, yes, liquefied butane, liquefied propane, etc.): USD 18.5 billion in 2020, 2021 US$33.9 billion in services (including study abroad travel, finance, data custody, telecommunications, management consulting, etc.): US$12.8 billion in 2020 and US$25.1 billion in 2021. The current tariff measures are retained, and US companies are "very hurt" above It is mentioned that the United States has retained some of the additional tariff measures. In order to "check and balance", China has also retained tariffs on more than 100 billion U.S. dollars worth of American products. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in October 2019 that market turmoil and reduced investment caused by the trade war caused the global economic growth rate in 2019 to drop to the lowest level since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Initiated by the United States, tariffs on Chinese imports cost US companies US$46 billion. The IMF pointed out that there is more and more evidence that tariffs not only increase the input costs of American manufacturers, but also greatly weaken their global competitiveness. A spokesperson for diesel engine manufacturer Cummins said on Tuesday (15th) that even if the first phase of the agreement is signed, the company still has to pay US$150 million in tariffs on engines and castings produced in China. The company is urging China and the United States to take steps as soon as possible to eliminate all additional tariffs. U.S. President Trump has always regarded the China-U.S. phase one economic and trade agreement as an important capital for his re-election campaign in 2020, and has repeatedly stated that “once we reach the second phase agreement, these tariffs will all be lifted,” Trump said. Said that he added that negotiations will begin soon. Intellectual property rights: Many of the contents of the agreement on the overall balance of content between the two parties are precisely the areas of reform that China has been seeking for a long time, including the core of the US "301 investigation" in China-intellectual property rights, which also led to the Sino-US trade war. Fuse. This time, both China and the United States have dealt with trade secret protection, drug-related intellectual property issues, extension of patent validity, geographical indications, combating piracy and counterfeiting on e-commerce platforms, combating the production and export of pirated and counterfeit products, and combating trademarks. A consensus was reached on malicious registration and strengthening judicial enforcement and procedures of intellectual property rights. "The content of the agreement in terms of intellectual property is in line with the direction of China's reform and opening up, and is the need for China's economic innovation and development." Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the Chinese government has attached great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights for a long time. The consensus reached by the two sides is in line with China's reform direction on strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, is conducive to the protection of innovation, and is conducive to more foreign intellectual property entering China and building an innovative country and innovative enterprise. For example, regarding strengthening general patent and trademark protection. Many well-known Chinese companies will also encounter the phenomenon of trademark "squatting"; some individuals even register hundreds of trademarks in bad faith for profit. The establishment of a system for combating malicious registration of trademarks is conducive to better protecting the legitimate rights and interests of all companies in the Chinese market. Another example is about strengthening the protection of corporate business secrets and combating infringement and counterfeiting. Gao Lingyun believes that this is conducive to better protecting innovation and stimulating the innovation enthusiasm of enterprises. "From the text of the agreement, the content of the two parties in the field of intellectual property is generally balanced." Gao Lingyun said that in terms of intellectual property, the rights and obligations of the two parties are equal and mutually beneficial, protecting both American and Chinese companies. It not only protects the investment of American companies in China, but also protects the investment of Chinese companies in the United States. Protecting intellectual property rights is also conducive to more foreign intellectual property rights and foreign capital entering China. According to the US "New York Times", China has suffered short-term pain in the trade war, but it will benefit from it in the long run. The newspaper said that China wants to develop into a more dynamic and innovative economy, and better intellectual property protection can play a role in promoting it. Regarding technology transfer: China and the United States have equal rights and obligations. In terms of technology transfer, China and the United States have reached a series of consensus. The agreement emphasizes that companies of both parties can freely enter each other’s market and conduct open and free operations; technology transfer and technology licensing are carried out voluntarily in accordance with market principles, and the government does not support or guide natural persons or enterprises to engage in distorted competition, and foreign companies for the purpose of acquiring technology invest. “In fact, China has never had a policy to force foreign companies to transfer technology. Ensuring companies to carry out technical cooperation based on voluntary principles and business rules is conducive to strengthening intellectual property protection, creating a fair and competitive business environment, and promoting the realization of high quality Development is in line with China's direction of further deepening reform and opening up." Gao Lingyun said. Gao Lingyun said that it is worth noting that in the chapter on technology transfer, all agreements reached between the two parties are equal in rights and obligations. For example, when the two parties acquire or establish a joint venture, they must not force the other party to transfer technology; they cannot force the other party to transfer technology through administrative management, administrative licensing and other requirements; the two parties must not use technology transfer or the use of each other's technology as a condition for market access; both parties maintain administrative The management and administrative licensing are transparent, and the sensitive technical information of the enterprise is kept confidential in the process of administrative supervision and review; the two parties ensure that the law enforcement of the other's enterprise is transparent and fair. "This balanced agreement between the two parties will help ensure that Chinese companies conduct business more fairly in the United States." Gao Lingyun said. Since joining the WTO, China has actively fulfilled its commitments in technology transfer. "Further improvement of the technology transfer system is fully in line with China's reform and opening up direction. It will help promote the transformation of government functions from R&D management to innovative services, create a business environment that more respects the value of knowledge, and stimulate greater momentum for the development of innovative countries. "Gao Lingyun said. American economists: The signing of the agreement is of great significance to China and the United States. Some economists and administrative region managers in the United States believe that the signing of the first phase of the economic and trade agreement between China and the United States will have a significant impact on the regional economy, the Sino-US economy and even the global economy. enhancement. "I think that uncertainties will decline and capital investment will improve. Therefore, the US industrial manufacturing may gradually recover, and there will be significant stimulus for countries that rely on capital goods for export, such as Germany, Japan and South Korea." American economist David Goldman believes that the signing of the first-phase economic and trade agreement between China and the United States can cool the current trade friction. In addition to benefiting China and the United States, it can also stimulate global economic growth. "This will have a positive effect on business sentiment, and it will also have a positive effect when forecasting global growth in 2020, because important concerns and risks will be reduced as a result." said Bruce Kathman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase , The global economic trend in 2020 will also have better development due to the optimism brought about by the signing of the first phase of the Sino-US economic and trade agreement. "If the trade friction ends, China and the United States will achieve a win-win situation. If the trade friction continues, there will be no winners. The American people and the Chinese people hope that all this will end. We (China and the United States) can become good trading partners again." New York Brooklyn Governor Eric Adams believes that the signing of the first phase of the economic and trade agreement is an important first step for the restoration of normal economic and trade partnership between China and the United States.