China, United States to hold trade talks in Beijing next week, White House says

US negotiators led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week, the White House said, as the two sides work to reach a draft agreement to end their trade dispute.

Talks starting on Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases and enforcement”, the White House said in a statement. Chinese officials led by Vice-Premier Liu He will then head to Washington for discussions starting on May 8, the White House said.

The two sides were seeking to reach a draft agreement by the end of May, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named discussing the private talks. Officials wanted to announce during Liu’s visit that they had agreed to a deal and the details of a signing summit, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News earlier.

The US and China have stepped up diplomacy in recent weeks to try to resolve their year-long trade dispute, with officials working towards a face-to-face meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to sign the deal. Mnuchin said earlier that enforcement mechanisms would be reciprocal, and that the US was open to “certain repercussions”, referring to one of the biggest sticking points in the talks.

One mechanism being discussed, US officials have said, would require consultations between US and Chinese officials over disputes, but ultimately allow either side to impose trade sanctions unilaterally. The deal might also see both sides agree to forego their right to retaliate or challenge any enforcement action by the other at the World Trade Organisation.