Well, from pretty much all directions, the reviews are in and this week’s U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue had disappointing results. As ManufactureThis predicted earlier this week, it was a polite exchange, a few pre-arranged agreements were touted and the real problems in the U.S.-China trade relationship, at best, were mentioned, but not addressed. The Washington Post What may be most disconcerting about this week’s talks is that Chinese delegation leader Vice Premier Wu Yi proclaimed the meeting “a complete success.” For China, maybe it was. This largest-ever Chinese delegation to the U.S. came, saw and talked; and now has left without conceding, or even in most cases acknowledging, the underlying problems of the predatory trading practices China continues to allow – dumping, subsidies, currency manipulation, an unwillingness to enforce basic workplace regulations. Here in the U.S., some experts are advising “tread lightly” with China and predict a trade war may be eminent. However, as MT has discussed before, China needs the U.S. market, and China’s current trade practices, which are based on broken promises of free trade it agreed to in 2001 when it entered the WTO, risk hurting its country and its economy too. MT certainly understands the delicacy of international negotiations. But the American workers and producers who stand to lose the most deserve more than “chit-chat diplomacy” and a “polite exchange” when it comes to China. They deserve progress and results, and we saw neither this week.