US team to visit China for trade talks Jan 7-8: Beijing

A US government delegation will visit China Monday and Tuesday for the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart agreed on a temporary truce in the trade war, China's commerce ministry said.

The US team will be led by Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish and will discuss "implementing the important consensus" reached by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina last year, it said Friday.

Word of the meeting follows small signs of progress -- and the absence of new threats from Trump -- while the two sides work to ease trade tensions by March 1.

Washington and Beijing have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of goods in total two-way trade, locking them in a conflict that has begun to eat into profits and contributed to stock market plunges.

The ceasefire began on December 1 in Buenos Aires after the two heads of state agreed to hold off on further tariffs or retaliation for 90 days.

In December, China's major state-owned grain stockpiler said it had resumed buying US soybeans, and Beijing announced it would suspend extra tariffs on US-made cars and auto parts starting January 1.