China draws ‘red lines’ around its economic model ahead of EU, US trade talks

SINGAPORE/BEIJING, Aug 3 (Reuters) – China is energetically defending its economic policy mix that favours advanced industries over consumption, adopting a posture analysts see as demonstrating increasing confidence ahead of looming ?trade talks with Europe and the United States. President Xi Jinping and U.S. counterpart Donald Trump plan more face-to-face meetings this year, while Brussels has set an October deadline ?for Beijing to settle disputes as worries grow over China’s trillion-dollar-plus trade surplus. Sign up here. Western countries frame China’s policies as mercantilist and opposing global trade rules, saying its priority for producers over households pushes cheaper goods into global…