U.S., China complete trade meeting

Time：2019-01-11 12:32:26    Share：

While no full resolution of an ongoing trade conflict was reached, U.S. and Chinese officials said they remain open to discussion after wrapping up a round of trade talks here on Wednesday.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish led an official delegation from the United States to Beijing for meetings with Chinese counterparts “to discuss ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations between our two countries,” according to a statement from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The officials also discussed the need for any agreement to provide for complete implementation subject to ongoing verification and effective enforcement.

The meetings were part of an agreement between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires to engage in 90 days of further negotiations to address forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft of trade secrets. Other areas of discussion include China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods and other products and services from the United States.

“The U.S. officials conveyed President Trump’s commitment to addressing our persistent trade deficit and to resolving structural issues in order to improve trade between our countries,” the statement continued. “The delegation will now report back to receive guidance on the next steps.”

Beijing issued a fairly upbeat statement, which was translated from Chinese by CNBC.

“Both sides enthusiastically implemented the important agreement of the heads of both countries and held broad, deep and meticulous discussions on shared observations on trade issues and structural problems, laying the foundation for addressing areas of common concern,” the Chinese statement read. “Both sides agreed to continue to keep in close contact.”