US-China trade talks in Beijing to continue for third day on Wednesday, US Trade Representative’s office confirms
- The talks were initially scheduled to take place over two days, with discussions continuing late into the night on Tuesday
- The fact that talks will continue shows ‘the whole thing has not blown up yet’, according to a former assistant US trade representative
Trade talks in Beijing between the United States and China will continue for a third day, the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) confirmed on Tuesday.
The talks, the first of their kind since the two countries’ leaders brokered a temporary truce to the trade war at the G20 summit in December, were initially scheduled to take place over two days, with discussions continuing late into the night on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday that the negotiations were going “very well”.
Officials on both sides have said little else about the progress of discussions so far, though a leaked photograph from Monday indicated a surprise appearance by Liu He, China’s vice-premier, at the meeting of otherwise low-ranking officials.
The US delegation, led by deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish, includes representatives from the departments of energy, agriculture, treasury and commerce.
That talks will continue for a third day is an indication “the whole thing has not blown up yet and that they believe that it’s worthwhile to spend more time together”, said Claire Reade, a former assistant USTR for China affairs in the Obama administration. “If they stopped after two days and everyone said ‘go to hell’ then that would not be a good thing.”
But according to Reade, such extensions, which she said are common in trade negotiations, could also be evidence “of a very typical, painful, incremental movement by the Chinese, testing the US resolution and persistence in particular areas”.
