China and US to hold fresh trade talks in next two weeks
The new talks will involve lower-level delegations than previous rounds
Beijing — China will hold a fresh round of trade talks with the US in Washington later in August, Beijing said on Thursday, offering a glimmer of hope for progress in resolving a conflict that has set financial markets on edge. A Chinese delegation led by vice-minister of commerce Wang Shouwen will meet US representatives led by under-secretary of treasury for international affairs David Malpass, the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website. While the engagement was seen by analysts as positive, they cautioned that the talks were unlikely to lead to a breakthrough given they were among lower-level officials, led on the US side by the treasury department, not the US trade representative. There also remains a wide gap between the two sides over Washington’s demands that Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for US companies, and slash a $375bn trade deficit with China. "The lower rank of the delegation suggests that both sides remain far apart...
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