FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2003 file photo, a Chinese shopkeeper stands behind a row of beef products at an open air market in Beijing, China. China will finally open its borders to U.S. beef while cooked Chinese poultry is closer to hitting the American market as part of a U.S.-China trade agreement. Trump administration officials hailed the deal as a significant step in their efforts to boost U.S. exports and even America's trade gap with the world's second-largest economy.(AP Photo/File)

Trade deal feeds China taste for beef, won’t close deficit

BEIJING – A new trade deal with the U.S. could help feed China’s growing appetite for beef and increase natural gas imports but will likely make only a negligible dent in the U.S. trade deficit.

The agreement announced on Friday Beijing time is a step toward easing trade friction between the world’s two largest economies. Tensions have been stoked by President Donald Trump’s complaints over the trade imbalance and Chinese market barriers.

The deal lifts a 2003 ban on imported American beef and in turn allows China to send cooked poultry to the U.S.

Peking University professor Yu Miaojie in Beijing says that’s good news for Chinese consumers who have a growing taste for beef as the country becomes more affluent. Homegrown cattle herds have not kept pace with surging demand.

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Abbey Westbury

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