China, US hold productive trade talks in Beijing

Discussions will continue in Washington next week

BEIJING: China and the United States held productive trade talks in Beijing on Wednesday and will continue discussions in Washington next week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, as the two try to end their trade war.

Mnuchin, along with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, held a day of discussions, before Chinese Vice Premier Liu He goes to Washington next week for another round of talks in what could be the endgame for negotiations.

“Ambassador Lighthizer and I just concluded productive meetings with China’s Vice Premier Liu He. We will continue our talks in Washington DC next week,” Mnuchin wrote on his Twitter account. He gave no details.

The three men appeared before cameras at the end of their talks at a state guest house in Beijing, chatting amiably amongst themselves but did not speak to reporters.

Liu had entertained his US guests on Tuesday night just after they arrived in the Chinese capital.

“We did. We had a nice working dinner, thank you,” Mnuchin told reporters at his Beijing hotel earlier on Wednesday, when asked if he had met with Liu on Tuesday.

He did not elaborate. Beijing and Washington have cited progress on issues including intellectual property and forced technology transfer to help end a conflict marked by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost both sides billions of dollars, disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets.

But US officials say privately that an enforcement mechanism for a deal and timelines for lifting tariffs are sticking points.  Chinese officials have also acknowledged that they view the enforcement mechanism as crucial, but say that it must work two ways and cannot put restraints only on China.

In Washington, people familiar with the talks say that the question of whether and when US tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will be removed will probably be among the last issues to be resolved. US President Donald Trump has said that he may keep some tariffs on Chinese goods for a “substantial period”.  

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2019.

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