"China is purchasing more crops, more corn, more soybeans, more agricultural commodities than ever seen before" from the United States, Kudlow told Fox News on Thursday, citing his conservation with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. "Thus far, Ambassador Lighthizer is satisfied with the progress."
The United States and China signed the trade agreement in January after an extended tariffs war between the two countries. Under the agreement, Beijing committed to expand between this year and next its purchase of certain US goods and services by a combined $200 billion from 2017 levels.
However, soon after the deal was signed, the coronavirus pandemic cause disruptions making it difficult for Washington to enforce the deal on Beijing, although the Trump administration insists that Chinese purchases are on track. The Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics published in June findings that showed China has only bought some $40 billion of the $173 billion of US purchases committed for 2020.
Kudlow, however, said Lighthizer told him China bought from the United States this year more than double the volume of US commodities it purchased in 2007.
But politically, the two countries were still far apart, Kudlow said.
"I'm not saying they will make good on all parts of the deal," Kudlow said. "We don't know that yet [on] intellectual property, forced transfer technology and so forth which are very important issues," Kudlow added.
