Nearly a year after the United States and China signed a phase one trade agreement, Beijing is seen as still far from fulfilling the purchase of American goods.
The deal requires China to buy at least $ 200 billion more U.S. goods and services over two years, from 2020 to 2021.
According to data shown by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), between January and November this year, China has purchased $ 82 billion worth of US goods. This purchase is half of the $ 159 billion target for 2020.
Based on the type of goods, the data shows that China's purchase of all product categories within 11 months, is still far from the full agreed commitment.
In terms of the purchase of US energy products, China is said to have made the least progress, while being closest to meeting the targeted amount of agricultural goods.
Some experts say it is unrealistic for China to buy more goods from the US. This is because to fulfill that commitment is difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis which has caused China's import demand to plummet.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office next month, has said he will not immediately remove tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China.
He will go through a full assessment of the phase one trade agreement and discuss with US allies to develop a strategy for China.
