China Wants Tariff Rollback for Phase 1 Trade Deal: Global Times

(Bloomberg) -- China's government wants tariffs to be rolled back as part of the phase one trade deal with the U.S., Global Times said in a tweet on Sunday, citing unidentified people in Beijing.

The paper reported that a U.S. pledge to scrap scheduled Dec. 15 tariffs cannot replace the rollback in existing ones. Global Times is a tabloid run by the Communist Party of China's flagship People's Daily newspaper.

Global Times said in separate tweet that Washington's interference in China's internal affairs and applying pressure on the country to buy U.S. commodities could threaten the deal. The paper was making reference to its report that cited an unnamed expert who said the Washington shouldn't push Beijing to commit on specific agricultural purchase amounts in the first phase of the trade deal.

China's commitments for buying agricultural products were in fact a “special treat” for the U.S. and not in accordance with World Trade Organization rules, Global Times said. The paper's Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin has previously said the paper voices opinions that official sources are not able to do so.

To contact the reporter on this story: Niluksi Koswanage in Singapore at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Niluksi Koswanage at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net, Shamim Adam

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