Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaDiplomacy

Coronavirus ‘could cut China’s purchases of US goods’ under phase one trade deal

  • White House national security adviser predicts impact on the value of American agricultural products Beijing committed to buying
  • Containing the outbreak and assessing its effects on an already slowing economy will be the priorities, observers say

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The trade deal signed by the United States and China in January contains a disaster-related clause. Photo: Reuters
Wendy Wuin Beijing
China’s challenges in fulfilling its phase one trade deal with the US while battling the coronavirus will make consultation between the countries vital, observers said, as a White House official warned the virus could reduce Chinese purchases of US products.
Advertisement

Robert O’Brien, the White House national security adviser, said on Tuesday that the outbreak could reduce Chinese purchases of American agricultural products this year.

“We expected the phase one deal will allow China to import more food and open those markets to American farmers, but certainly as we watch this coronavirus outbreak unfold in China, it could have an impact on how big – at least in this current year – the purchases are,” O’Brien said at an event at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

The economic standstill and the lockdown of cities in China as part of its measures to control the deadly virus has created uncertainty over whether diplomatic and political matters will remain on schedule.

As of Tuesday, the coronavirus – which causes the disease the World Health Organisation has officially named Covid-19 – had infected almost 45,000 people and killed 1,113 in mainland China, including one US citizen in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Advertisement
Advertisement