Senior Chinese trade negotiator calls for ‘equal dialogue’ during US visit

China and the US should manage their differences and expand cooperation through “equal dialogue and consultation”, senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang said during a visit to the United States amid a trade war truce between the two powers.

Li wrapped up his three-day visit on Friday after meeting with officials from the US Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative, according to a statement from the Chinese commerce ministry on Saturday.

He also held talks with representatives from the US-China Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce and several US companies.

China and the US are preparing for their fourth round of trade talks, to be held around November when the 90-day truce deal expires and before a potential visit by US President Donald Trump to China.

Li’s visit also came before an intense week of diplomacy in China, which will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin from Sunday, followed by a grand military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The two sides “exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations and the implementation of prior consensus reached in Sino-American trade negotiations”, the ministry said.

South China Morning Post