Published February 15, 2021, 12:02 AM
United States President Joseph Biden and China President Xi Jinping spoke by phone for two hours last Thursday. It was the first time for the two leaders to speak with each other since Biden assumed the presidency on January 30. That it lasted two hours speaks of the many concerns and issues between their two countries.
During his term, former President Trump had started to impose sweeping US tariffs on Chinese imports for its alleged unfair trade practices that had led to a huge trade gap in favor of China. The US came to impose tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods, countered by China with its own tariffs on $185 billion of US goods. After so many talks between President Trump and President Xi and their trade officials, they signed a Phase One Deal on January 15, 2020, including a rollback of tariffs, expansion of trade purchases, renewal of commitments on intellectual property, technology transfer, and currency practices.