CHANTILLY (France)/WASHINGTON, July 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — U.S. and Chinese officials spoke by telephone on Thursday as the world’s two largest economies seek to end a year-long trade war, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggesting in-person talks could follow.
Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke with their Chinese counterparts over the phone, Lighthizer’s office said on Thursday, following earlier comments by the Treasury secretary in an interview on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Chantilly, France.
The United States and China have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat tariff battle since July 2018, as Washington presses Beijing to address what it sees as decades of unfair and illegal trading practices.
China has countered that any deal needs to be fair and equitable, leaving the two sides apparently still far from an agreement to end the back-and-forth that has roiled global supply chains and upended financial markets.
“Right now we’re having principal-level calls and to the extent that it makes sense for us to set up in-person meetings, I would anticipate that we would be doing that,” Mnuchin said.
Asked if Thursday’s call could lead to an in-person meeting, Mnuchin said: “It’s possible, but I’m not going to speculate on the outcome.”
U.S. government data published on Thursday showed China last week made its largest purchase of U.S. sorghum since April. Sorghum was one of the first casualties of the trade war, which has slowed exports of soybeans and pork to China.
Lighthizer’s office later confirmed that the conversation took place as scheduled, but gave no details.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a Group of 20 nations summit in Japan last month to resume discussions, easing fears of escalation after talks broke down in early May. At the time of the G20, Trump agreed to suspend a new round of tariffs on US$300 billion worth of imported Chinese consumer goods while the two sides resumed negotiations. — NNN-AGENCIES
