US-China trade talks conclude in Washington

China and the US have achieved substantial progress on specific issues following their latest round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington, the Chinese delegation said.

During the Feb 21-24 talks, the seventh round since February last year, Chinese and US negotiators further implemented the important consensus reached by the Presidents of the two countries during their December meeting in Argentina, and focused their talks on the text of an agreement, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Chinese delegation said that substantial progress was made on such specific issues as technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers, service industry, agriculture and exchange rates.

On the basis of the latest progress, the two sides will continue their work for the next stage in accordance with the instructions of the two heads of state, added the Chinese delegation.

The Chinese team is headed by Vice Premier Liu He, who also came as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the US team is led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

--IANS

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