US-China trade negotiators in ‘constructive’ phone call

Sides discuss ‘core issues’ for phase one trade agreement, Xinhua says

Officials also commit to keeping communication channels open, but no other details of talks are revealed

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China’s official state news agency is reporting that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (left) and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He have had a “constructive” telephone discussion. Also on the call was US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:45am, 17 Nov 2019Updated: 10:49pm, 17 Nov 2019

A high-level phone call between Chinese and US trade negotiators on Saturday was “constructive”, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.

China’s Vice-Premier Liu He, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the two sides’ core issues for the first phase of an initial trade deal, and agreed to maintain close communication, according to Xinhua which gave no other details in its report on Sunday.

The announcement stopped short of using phrases like “substantial progress” or “reaching consensus” as it had in previous statements about such calls.

While China was unlikely to make any further offers in the deal, it was still up to US President Donald Trump to agree to the terms, said Lu Xiang, a specialist on US affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“I think the substantial part of the negotiations was done earlier this month,” he said. “China is not likely to make new offers, and the ones that were made are not unconditional and are dependent on a decision by the US.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce said earlier in the month that the two sides had agreed to remove additional tariffs in phases once their leaders signed an interim deal towards ending the costly trade war. Trump rebuked that statement only a day later, saying he had not agreed to rollbacks of US tariffs sought by China.

Speaking at an event in New York on Tuesday, Trump again raised a possible escalation of the trade war.

US-China trade negotiators in ‘constructive’ phone call

Sides discuss ‘core issues’ for phase one trade agreement, Xinhua says Officials also commit to keeping communication channels open, but no other details of talks are revealed

Sides discuss ‘core issues’ for phase one trade agreement, Xinhua says

Officials also commit to keeping communication channels open, but no other details of talks are revealed