U.S. President Donald Trump. / Yonhap News.  

The U.S. government has increased pressure ahead of a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, announcing an investigation into whether China has properly upheld past trade agreements with the United States.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) explained on the 24th (local time) that it will investigate whether China has fully implemented the Phase One Agreement reached with the U.S. during the first Trump administration, whether there are burdens or restrictions on U.S. commerce due to China's non-compliance, and what actions should be taken in response to China's non-compliance.

USTR Representative Jamieson Greer stated, "The initiation of this investigation highlights the Trump administration's determination to ensure China adheres to the Phase One trade agreement, protect American farmers, ranchers, workers, and innovators, and strengthen reciprocity in our trade relationship with China for the benefit of the American people."

During his first term, President Trump also raised issues with China's trade policies and practices, exerting strong pressure through tariffs. The two countries engaged in a fierce 'trade war' and eventually reached a trade agreement in December 2019 after months of negotiations.

At the time, China pledged policy improvements in areas such as intellectual property rights, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and exchange rates. Notably, it committed to increasing its annual imports of U.S. goods and services by at least $200 billion (approximately 286 trillion won) over the next two years compared to 2017 levels.

However, China failed to meet its '200 billion dollar import' commitment, and President Trump has criticized China for not upholding the agreement.

On January 20th of this year, his inauguration day, President Trump also issued a memorandum on 'America First Trade Policy' instructing the administration to evaluate China's implementation of the Phase One trade agreement and recommend appropriate actions, including the imposition of tariffs.

The USTR stated, "Despite five years having passed since the agreement's implementation and repeated dialogues with China to address implementation concerns, it appears that China has not fulfilled its commitments under the Phase One trade agreement regarding non-tariff barriers, market access issues, and the purchase of U.S. goods and services."

President Trump is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping, who will visit South Korea on the 30th to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The USTR's announcement of this investigation ahead of the summit is interpreted as an attempt to gain additional leverage in trade negotiations with China, but some predict it could also provoke China and disrupt the negotiations.

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