Former Trump Adviser Sees No Prospects for Long-Term US-China Trade Deal

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - David Banks, former adviser to US presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush, told Sputnik that he did not believe that any long-term trade agreement between the United States and China would come to pass.

"I do not think that any type of agreement with China on trade and investment is sustainable, because it is a zero sum game. China is an economic, geopolitical competitor. And I do not see a long term compromise there," Banks said.

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He accused China of implementing an aggressive economic policy aimed at destroying competition by dumping and selling cheap products.

"If they face tariffs, they can circumvent that by building factories here in the United States — a type of Trojan Horse — to flood the market. They are also looking to acquire advanced technology through mergers and acquisitions — so buying the company. That’s on top of their economic espionage. As long as Chinese industry is controlled by the Chinese government and Chinese communist party, I see it as a risk," Banks said.

China and the United States have been engaged in a trade war since Trump announced in June that the United States would subject $50 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent tariffs in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit. The two countries have since exchanged several rounds of trade tariffs.

At the G20 summit in Argentina in December, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed upon a 90-day truce to allow room for a new trade agreement. The truce was set to end on March 1 but after the latest round of consultations, held on February 21-24, Trump agreed to postpone the introduction of new tariffs.