US and China wrap up ‘constructive’ trade talks with pledge to meet again next week
- US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he looks forward to continuing discussions in Washington next Thursday
- Both sides hail progress, but Beijing’s official mouthpiece warns China won’t strike a deal for the sake of it
The US and China wrapped up a full day of “constructive” talks in Beijing on Friday, according to one of the most senior US negotiators, and will resume their discussions in Washington next week.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin posted a message on Twitter in which he said he looked forward to welcoming China’s chief negotiator, Vice-Premier Liu He, to America next week.
The message also included a photo of the two sides standing in front of their national flags and said the two sides had concluded “constructive talks in Beijing”.
The White House later released a statement saying both sides “continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps”, while China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that the two sides “held discussions on the text of the agreement and achieved new progress”.
Even though Donald Trump has said the two sides are close to a deal, there are still reported to be differences over an enforcement mechanism to address American complaints about unfair trade practices and technology theft.
People’s Daily, Beijing’s official mouthpiece, published two commentaries on the topic earlier on Friday, both warning China would not blink first and race to strike a deal for the sake of it.