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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Despite trade tension, China and US keep lines open on ‘issues of common concern’

US Treasury attaches discuss macroeconomy and China-US trade relations with experts at top government think tank in Beijing

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Oliver Melton, the US Treasury Department’s outgoing finance attaché in China, and his successor Tyler Makepeace speak to Zhang Bin and Xu Qiyuan of the Institute of World Economics and Politics on Wednesday. Photo: Handout
Orange Wangin Beijing
China and the US have kept their contact channels active amid their escalating trade war, with American financial diplomats visiting a Chinese government-affiliated think tank in Beijing this week.

Oliver Melton, the US Treasury Department’s outgoing finance attache in China, and his successor Tyler Makepeace visited the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Wednesday.

They had “in-depth exchanges on topics including China’s macroeconomy and China-US trade relations” with Zhang Bin and Xu Qiyuan, two of the institute’s deputy directors, the organisation said on Wednesday without giving details about the discussion.

The meeting adds to signs that Washington and Beijing have been working to keep the lines of communication open since Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November, although tensions between the two powers remain high over a wide spectrum of issues, from tariffs and tech rivalry to Taiwan and the South China Sea.

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CASS, while operating as a ministry-level body directly under the State Council of China, the country’s cabinet, is widely viewed as part of the Chinese central apparatus.

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