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China, US to resume trade talks this month

This article is more than 12 months old

BEIJING China will send a senior negotiator to the US late this month to resume trade talks, its Commerce Ministry said yesterday, the first public meeting on the dispute in weeks as the trade conflict intensifies.

Beijing and Washington have slapped tariffs on tens of billions of dollars worth of each other's goods since they held their last high-level meeting in June.

At the invitation of the US, a delegation led by Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, the deputy representative on international trade negotiations, will meet a team led by senior US treasury official David Malpass, the ministry said in a statement.

"The Chinese side reiterates that it opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism practices and does not accept any unilateral trade restriction measures," the statement said.

"China welcomes dialogue and communication on the basis of reciprocity, equality and integrity."

The two countries are expected to launch a new round of tit-for-tat tariffs on US$16 billion (S$22 billion) worth of goods from each country on Aug 23.

"It is hard to tell how the talks will go but it is a positive signal that the two countries are looking for some compromise," said Mr Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

Mr Larry Hu, head of greater China economics at the Macquarie Group, said: "I think we are still at an ice breaking stage, the two sides are testing each other's bottom line."

He also noted that it will be a lower-level meeting than the previous talks. - AFP

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