Chinese President Xi Jinping has on Friday told the United States trade negotiators that talks held between Washington and Beijing this week have made important progress, further adding that efforts would continue to take place in Washington next consecutive week in order to resolve their trade dispute.
According to Reuters news reports, Xi has met with US trade representatives Robert Lighthizer and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin after a week full of trade negotiations at the deputy and senior level in Beijing, and also called for a deal which both sides could accept, the state media reported.
After the conclusion of talks, on Twitter, Mnuchin said he along with Lighthizer had held “productive meetings” with Chinese top economic adviser, vice premier Liu He.
Xi said, “The consultations between the two sides’ teams achieved important step-by-step progress.”
While addressing a meeting at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi said: “Next week, both sides will meet again in Washington. I hope you will continue efforts to advance reaching a mutually beneficial, win-win agreement.” He added saying that Beijing was willing to take several “cooperative approach” to settle bilateral trade frictions.
Lighthizer said: “We feel that we have made headway on very, very important, and very difficult issues. We have additional work to do but we are hopeful.”
Both countries have not detailed about new offers over how both sided will de-escalate the tariff war.
One of the sources said, “Stalemate on the important stuff.” The second source said, “There’s still a lot of distance between parties on structural and enforcement issues. I wouldn’t quite call it hitting a wall, but it’s not a field of dreams either.”
A third source told Reuters that the White House was “irate” over reports that Trump’s administration was thinking to consider a 60-day extension of the tariff deadline.
Reuters had earlier reported that in the recent meeting Beijing has vowed to make its industrial subsidy programs complaint with the World Trade Organization rules and put an end to those that distort markets, but however, offered no further details.
The offer has been met with scepticism from U.S. negotiators, in part because China has long refused to disclose its subsidies.
President and chief executive of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) John Neuffer told Reuters the offer would be “akin to an accounting sleight of hand” and “an attempt to rearrange our supply chains and drive them deeper into China”.
He added saying, “We are confident U.S. government negotiators will wisely dismiss this offer and continue pushing for meaningful reforms that create a fair and level playing field for U.S. companies doing business in China.”
Some trade experts said China has appeared keen and focused over Trump-Xi meeting, hoping it would make a deal to limit or reduce US tariffs.