Some U.S. politicians need to learn to restrain themselves and watch their language in public when talking about the China-U.S. trade deal, observers said, warning that if the Trump administration continuously talks down the deal while China implements it, China will not be responsible should the deal be scrapped in the end. The comment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S.-China trade deal is “fully intact,” just hours after White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro told Fox News that it was “over,” though he later clarified his statement. The twists and turns have not only shocked the world, but also have stoked volatility in stock and currency markets already frazzled by the pandemic, the Global Times wrote. Senior U.S. trade advisors like Navarro have to learn how to “behave” and accurately express themselves in front of media and the public, as every word and action from people like him will have a major impact on the world market, or ties with other countries, Gao Lingyun, Expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing, who closely follows the China-U.S. trade conflict, told the Global Times.

The trade deal is progressing well, Gao said, adding that even if the two wanted to end the deal, there would be a mechanism to go through, rather than just “telling the media.” “The swift clarification also shows the Trump administration’s nervousness on the trade deal, and internal chaos, as the China card is an important ‘political tool’ in the election season,” Mei Xinyu, Expert close to China’s Commerce Ministry, told the Global Times. If the Trump administration continuously talks down the hard-won trade deal while China is firmly implementing it, the U.S. should take responsibility should the deal be scrapped in the end, Gao said. In testimony before the U.S. Congress earlier in June, Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative and the deal’s primary architect, said that he was in frequent contact with Chinese officials and that they were working hard to live up to their agreements. “Every indication is that despite Covid-19, they are going to do what they say,” Lighthizer said.

In another sign the trade deal is being carried out, China’s state-owned enterprises bought at least three cargoes of U.S. soybeans in early June. The purchases, totaling at least 180,000 tons of oil seed, were earmarked for shipment in October or November. “Both China and the U.S. recognize the importance of the hard-won phase one trade deal, which is steadily progressing,” Song Guoyou, Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times. Some in the U.S. want to deny or scrap the deal over their political intentions, although they do not represent the mainstream stance, Song said.