TV anchors agree on need for impasse breakthrough

A much-anticipated discussion between US and Chinese anchorwomen on Wednesday had the host and her guest addressing everything from tariffs to China's developing nation status.

Trish Regan, host of Trish Regan Primetime on the Fox Business Network, and Liu Xin, who anchors The Point on China Global Television Network, or CGTN, agreed that something must be done to break the impasse between China and the United States as the world's two biggest economies remain embroiled in a protracted trade dispute.

The two journalists met "face-to-face" for the first time after exchanging Twitter messages over the past week in which they agreed to have an "honest debate" and "meaningful discussion" on trade issues that are perplexing their countries.

Liu joined Regan's show at Fox's studio in New York via satellite from CGTN's Beijing studio.

"I would stress that trade wars are never good. They're not good for anyone," Regan said on the show. "So I want to believe, Xin, I want to believe that something can get done."

Regan took a different approach from what she said on her show two weeks ago when she argued that US tariffs were a "necessary response" to China "stealing" billions of dollars' worth of intellectual property each year.

Liu told Regan that China has made its position very clear that if the US treats the Chinese negotiating team with respect and shows a willingness to talk without using outside pressure, there is a high possibility that there could be a productive trade deal.

"Otherwise, I think we might be facing a prolonged period of problems for both sides," Liu said.

Regan, at the close of their 15-minute discussion, repeated: "No one wants trade wars. But we have to think long and hard about the right next steps."

Liu countered an assertion by Regan that China's government controls its entire economy.

"Everybody thinks that China's economy is State-owned, State-controlled, everything is State, State, State. Let me tell you that is not the true picture," Liu said. "We are a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics. We are quite mixed, very dynamic and very open as well."

Earlier, Liu had said that "80 percent of Chinese employees work at private enterprises, 80 percent of exports are by private companies".

Asked how US businesses operate in China with the risk of their intellectual property being stolen, Liu said many US companies have been established in China and they're very profitable.

"The great majority of them, I believe, plan to continue to invest in China and explore the Chinese market as well," Liu said.

Liu said there is consensus among Chinese that no country or individual "can be stronger" and "develop itself" without intellectual property protections, and that isolated cases do not mean that the US or China is stealing.

Global Times called the discussion between the two anchorwomen "friendly, meaningful talks. Both agreed: a trade war is bad! (For Trish, that's a change of heart, since she had tried to justify the US trade war against China.)", it said on its Twitter account.

Twitter user RayCaiYan said in a reply to Regan's tweet that it was "more like a Q&A session. I thought Trish could leverage some of Liu's answers to discuss the issues further, but sadly she didn't."

FionaXu tweeted: "The American anchor is talking about a free market. ... You mean protectionism equals a free market?"

Weibo user Tiandijian said, "Whatever the outcome is, such communication should be held more often, since dialogue is the only way to solve conflicts."

Hexiaoye, another Weibo user, said it was good to see the dialogue between CGTN and Fox end in a candid and friendly atmosphere, and she hopes the China-US trade talks will also turn out well.

Jon Taylor, a professor of political science of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said that while the two anchors pretty much disagreed on everything, the discussion offered US viewers the chance to hear the Chinese side of the issues.

Heng Weili in New York and Pan Mengqi in Beijing contributed to this story.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily Global 05/31/2019 page1)