US, China Hold Fresh Talks on Trade Issues

By Staff, Agencies

American and Chinese officials will hold a fresh round of talks on trade issues Tuesday, on the third day of a visit to Beijing by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Her trip to China is the latest by a senior US official in recent months as Washington seeks to defuse tensions with the world's second-largest economy. Earlier on Monday, the official met with commerce minister Wang Wentao.

The two sides agreed to set up a working group to iron out the laundry list of trade disputes between them. They also agreed to set up what Washington called an “export control enforcement information exchange” - described as a platform to reduce misunderstanding of US national security policies."

The information exchange will convene for the first time at Beijing's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday, Washington said.

“Secretary Raimondo emphasized the importance of ensuring open lines of communication between the United States and China and took concrete steps to deliver on that goal,” the Commerce Department said in a statement on the talks.

But Beijing painted a less rosy picture, saying Wang had raised "serious concerns" over Washington's trade curbs on Chinese businesses. Those included “US Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, its semiconductor policies, restrictions of two-way investment, discriminatory subsidies, and sanctions on Chinese enterprises,” Beijing's commerce ministry said.

Wang warned they “run counter to market rules and the principle of fair competition, and will only harm the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains.”