US, China to resume trade talks next week in Shanghai

Top Trump administration officials will travel to China next week for the first high-level, in-person trade negotiating session since talks collapsed in May.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Shanghai on July 30 to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

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White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement the officials will “continue negotiations aimed at improving the trade relationship between the United States and China.”

“The discussions will cover a range of issues, including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, the trade deficit, and enforcement,” Grisham said.

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to formally resume talks at last month’s Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Osaka, Japan. Since then, officials have spoken by phone but no in-person negotiations have taken place.

Mnuchin said Wednesday that he is hopeful the months-long trade dispute could be resolved, but said there are still many sticking points.

“I would say there are a lot of issues,” Mnuchin said on CNBC. “My expectations is this will be followed up with a meeting back in D.C. after this and hopefully we’ll continue to progress.”

Trump has expressed frustration that China has not quickly stepped up purchases of U.S. agricultural products, actions he said at the G-20 would begin “almost immediately.” But China has not said publicly whether it made such a commitment.

Beijing is seeking relief from U.S. tariffs and a follow-through on the president’s pledge to lift a blacklist on the Chinese tech giant Huawei.

After the U.S.-China talks broke down in May, Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. He also threatened to impose tariffs on roughly $300 billion in imports from China, but said he would hold off on that plan while talks resume.