Latest US-China trade talks end not with a bang but a whimper, if heard at all
Two days of low-level negotiations ended on Thursday with no positive moves towards ending the trade war
Talks between the United States and China in Washington this week concluded with no concrete steps toward ending the bilateral trade war that started last month.
Since their announcement last week, the relatively low-level negotiations between representatives of the two countries have been clouded in scepticism from pundits and government officials on both sides of the Pacific – a scepticism that has apparently borne out.
At the invitation of the US, a Chinese delegation led by the vice-minister for commerce, Wang Shouwen, travelled to Washington for two days of talks starting on Wednesday. The discussions were hosted on the US side by Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass.
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A short statement released by China’s Commerce Ministry after the talks said the two sides had “constructive and frank exchanges” over trade issues, and would “keep in touch”.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters told reporters: “We concluded two days of discussions with counterparts from China and exchanged views on how to achieve fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship, including by addressing structural issues in China such as those identified in the Section 301 report”.
“We appreciated the Chinese delegation coming to the United States to participate in these meetings.”
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