“We’re hoping Phase 1 will be a precursor of
later agreements,” Ross said.
Xi and Trump were to have met at this month’s
gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders in Chile, but
the event was canceled due to protests there.
Ross said the two sides are looking for a
different location.
The European Union is looking for “real,
substantial” progress on the investment
treaty before an EU-China summit in the
second half of 2020, the EU Delegation in
Beijing said in a statement.
“We want an ambitious agreement that grants
wider market access, robust investment
protection, greater predictability for our
companies and commitments on sustainability,”
the statement said.
Beijing is trying to shore up consumer
demand after economic growth sank to a
multi-decade low of 6% over a year ago in
the latest quarter.
The ruling Communist Party is looking to
consumers to propel economic growth,
replacing trade and investment. But shoppers
are uneasy about the trade war and possible
job losses. They are spending less, which
has battered sales of autos, real estate and
other goods.
Chinese imports were off 5% from a year
earlier in the first nine months of the year,
down from double-digit growth in previous
years. Imports of American soybeans and other
goods were down 26.4% following Chinese
tariff hikes and orders to importers to find
other suppliers.