US still 'miles and miles' from trade deal with China, America's Wilbur Ross says

In an interview with broadcaster CNBC, Wilbur Ross said that the US was still "miles and miles" from inking a trade deal with China.

"Frankly, that shouldn't be too surprising," he said, "given that there are "lots and lots of issues."

"We would like to make a deal but it has to be a deal that will work for both parties," Ross said.

He listed three sticking points in the talks, including the "intolerably big trade deficit", China's 2025 plan to dominate various high-tech industries and the lack of a level playing field for US companies in China, together with the disrespect shown towards their intellectual property rights.

Nevertheless, in response to a question, Ross did not close the door to a possible extension of the 2 March deadline when America's current 10% tariff on $200bn-worth of Chinese exports is set to rise to 25%.

Just the day before, analysts at Oxford Economics had told clients that they no longer expected that increase to go through, explaining that recent weak readings on the economy had made policymakers in Beijing more "conciliatory".

"However, while top-level trade discussions later this month may deliver a partial “deal” avoiding further escalation of tensions, we don’t foresee an imminent comprehensive tariff-reducing trade agreement given underlying tensions surrounding China’s strategic ambitions and US national security concerns," said Oxford Economics's Gregory Daco.

"Further, we remain skeptical of the feasibility (and desirability) of certain political promises to rebalance the bilateral trade deficit. Market participants should be wary of overplaying trade rumours.