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Russia studies US-China agreement, ready to act if it infringes upon its rights

Economic Development Deputy Minister Timur Maximov explained that Russia has a number of tools it can use - from purely political to legal

DAVOS /Switzerland/, January 24. /TASS/. Russia is studying the legal part of the trade agreement between China and the United States and can use the necessary legal or political instruments if the document infringes upon its interests, Economic Development Deputy Minister Timur Maximov told reporters.

"Now we are carefully studying the legal side of it (in the agreement between China and the US - TASS). We need to understand how this will be implemented in practice - will it infringe upon the rights of the rest. If yes, how?" he said.

He explained that Russia has a number of tools it can use - from purely political to legal.

"The WTO refers more to legal instruments. The political dialogue at all levels is quite active, there is an opportunity to solve this in the framework of bilateral contacts," Maximov added.

The Deputy Minister explained that "China has a volume of domestic demand, which is satisfied through imports," and now it is about "redistributing this volume from one [country] to another."

"The question is what tools they will use for it<" he said.

The official noted that Russia is now considering the need to require China to increase imports in proportion to the United States. "Let's not jump to conclusions, putting forward demands - this is a political decision, but there are, of course, questions in terms of the legality of the first phase of this transaction," the deputy minister added.

 

US-China Phase One Trade Agreement

 

On January 15, US President Donald Trump and China’s Deputy Prime Minister Liu He signed an agreement on the first phase of a deal to settle bilateral trade disputes. The ceremony took place at the White House. The volume of the trade agreement, according to the US President, will exceed $200 billion this year and will grow annually.

In particular, China agreed to increase purchases of US products by $76.7 billion during the first year and by $123.3 billion during the second year of the agreement. This concerns not only agricultural products, but also other American products.