US\, China to hold next round of trade talks on April 30

US, China to hold next round of trade talks on April 30

IANS  |  Washington 

Negotiators from the US and will meet in on April 30 for the next round of trade talks, the has said.

The of the Chinese delegation, Liu He, will then travel to for more discussions starting on May 8, according to the statement cited by news.

"The subjects of next week's discussions will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement," it said.

The two sides are seeking to end a bitter trade war that began last year as a result of US Donald Trump's protectionist agenda and his criticism of China's trade policies.

The negotiators have held several rounds of talks since December in a bid to reach an agreement as the dispute has heavily cost the two largest economies in the world and jolted financial markets.

As the trade war protracted, Trump, after a round of parleys in February, said was "doing very well in trade talks with China".

He has demanded that a new trade agreement with "must include real, structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our and protect American jobs".

The US warned late last year that, if no agreement was reached before March 1 he would raise the current tariff rate of 10 per cent to 25 per cent on Chinese imports amounting to $200 billion.

The deadline was eventually extended and the talks have become more frequent.

Since December, has taken goodwill measures, such as the lowering of tariffs on imported US vehicles, the resumption of the purchase of soybeans and the approval of a bill to prohibit forced transfer of technology.

is also demanding from to agree to a "no-retaliation" clause in the new proposed deal. This essentially means that the US reserves the right to impose tariffs on in case of a dispute, but Beijing is not supposed to retaliate.

China has rejected the condition so far.

As a condition for not increasing tariffs on China, which affect textiles, and fuel, Washington also wants Beijing to commit to structural changes in its economy to, among other things, protect intellectual property of American companies.

--IANS

soni/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, April 24 2019. 15:38 IST