US-China rifts widen despite economic headway

Three months after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a lavish welcome for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at his Florida resort, the powers have made headway on an ambitious economic plan even as diplomatic rifts between them have widened.

Speaking in Paris on Thursday, the American leader was full of praise for Xi, proclaiming him a "friend" for whom he has "great respect", a "great leader" and a "very talented man."

The expressions of admiration have gone both ways -- a day earlier Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang had hailed "positive advances" in China-U.S. economic cooperation based on a spirit of "consensus" between the two leaders.

Both sides see moderate progress on a wide-ranging 100-day economic action plan, first unveiled at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in April that covers such areas as financial services, investment, energy and trade -- a topic close to the U.S. president's heart.

Evans Revere, an analyst at Brookings Institution, told AFP: "Both sides seem to share the view that the 100-day plan is largely on track."

Jake Parker, vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council in Beijing, largely agreed: "Overall, the 100-day outcomes are positive first steps addressing lingering issues in the U.S.-China commercial relationship," he said, while adding that more needed to be done to address structural issues such as foreign investment restrictions.

But despite the effusive rhetoric, that progress has not been matched in other areas of the relationship with ever widening rifts on a host of foreign policy issues.

The U.S. appears bitterly disappointed over China's failure to exert pressure on North Korea in the wake of its first ever intercontinental ballistic missile test, while Beijing has been left fuming at American incursions into disputed territory in the South China Sea, arms sales to Taiwan and statements on human rights.

Chinese bogeyman

Trump made China a central part of his presidential campaign, denouncing the country for unfair trading practices that cost Americans jobs and accusing it of manipulating its currency.

Since becoming president, however, he has taken an about turn on the currency issue and in May announced a deal to export American beef and gas to China in the hope of reducing a massive trade deficit that totaled $347 billion in 2016.

These first results from the 100-day plan will likely be feted at the U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue that will be held on July 19 in Washington, hosted by U.S. treasury and commerce secretaries Steven Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross and Chinese vice premier Wang Yang.

But in other contentious areas of the relationship -- tensions in the Korean peninsula, China's maritime disputes with its neighbors, Taiwan and human rights -- "the two sides are far apart," says Revere.

The U.S. has scolded Beijing for not putting enough pressure on North Korea, which increased trade with its key diplomatic backer by 10.5 percent in the first half of this year.

The July 4 launch of an ICBM by Pyongyang signaled that Trump's "naive experiment regarding China and North Korea is now coming to an end," said Revere, vindicating foreign policy experts' skepticism towards relying on Beijing to rein in its neighbor.

Patience evaporating

As evidence of the shift, Revere cited U.S. sanctions on Chinese entities such as the Bank of Dandong, which is accused of illicit dealings with companies linked to the weapons program, days before the launch.

Tensions have also been stoked by the passage of a US warship near a reef claimed by Beijing in May and two B-1 bombers over disputed waters in July, acts denounced by China as grave military and political provocations.

Washington meanwhile approved a $1.3 billion arms deal to Taiwan, an island which Beijing considers a rebel province awaiting re-unification.

The developments appeared to have been acknowledged by Geng Shuang as "negative factors" in the relationship brought about by "actions of the U.S."

On the thorny question of human rights, statements from the US State Department have come pouring in -- calling on China to respect Hong Kong's freedoms, desist its crackdown on lawyers, or condemning Beijing for the death in custody Nobel peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

As for Trump's continuing habit of praising the Chinese leader, Revere believes it stems largely from "a desire to keep the door open in case Beijing changes its posture vis-a-vis North Korea, as well as to try to keep the U.S.-China relationship on a steady course."