US, China to discuss trade relations on Jan 30,31

A Chinese delegation will arrive in the United States to hold a series of meetings on January 30 and 31 to discuss trade relations between the two countries, President Donald Trump announced on Monday.

"For the United States, the trade discussions will be led by United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and include Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Larry Kudlow, and Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro," a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders' office confirmed.

"The United States principals will be accompanied by senior officials from the White House, USTR, and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State, and the Treasury," the statement added.

The meetings are a part of the agreement of a 'temporary truce' reached by Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their dinner on December 1 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.

Part of their agreement was to engage in 90 days of negotiations with a view to achieving the needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China.

In Argentina, Trump had agreed to not raise the then-10 per cent tariffs on the USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent. Also, China agreed to purchase "very substantial" amounts of agriculture, energy, and other goods in order to restore trade balances.

Additionally, China agreed to "reduce and remove" tariffs on US-made cars and reclassify 'fentanyl' as a 'controlled substance', with the White House terming the latter a "wonderful humanitarian gesture".

The statement from the White House press secretary added: "The two sides will also discuss China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the United States. Under this agreement, an official United States delegation traveled to Beijing for trade meetings from January 7 to 9, 2019.