Asia

China Hopes for Positive Outcome of New Trade Talks With US

BEIJING (Sputnik) – China hopes that the upcoming round of its trade negotiations with the United States will bring positive results, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Sputnik

"Based on the [results of] recent consultations held in Washington, the parties will continue discussions. We, as well as everyone in the world, are hoping for a positive outcome," Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

The spokeswoman, however, has not confirmed the Sunday media reports saying that US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, may meet in the Mar-a-Lago residence of the US president in Florida in mid-March.

"Recently various reports on the issue have emerged. We paid attention to that… Concerning the specific meeting, I have no information on the issue," Hua said.

READ MORE: Trump's Advisers Consider Holding Trump-Xi Summit in Florida in March — Reports

At the same time, she pointed out Chinese readiness to maintain close contacts on the trade dispute with the United States, including those at the top level.

Moreover, Senior White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on Monday that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet in the coming days at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"It's possible," Conway told Fox News when asked about Axios' report about plans for such a meeting. "[Trump] wants to meet with President Xi very soon."

READ MORE: Beijing Accuses US of Illegally Crossing Its Sovereign Borders in S China Sea

She said Trump knows his trade policies and tariffs are working as the March 1 deadline for a new trade deal between Washington and Beijing approaches.

"It looks that way," Conway said when asked if the two sides were getting closer to reaching a deal.

She added that Trump wants a deal that is fair to American interests and American workers.

The officials' comments come as the next round of the China-US trade negotiations will be held in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.

On Monday, the US delegation arrived in Beijing to start preliminary consultations.

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China and the United States have been engaged in a trade war since US President Donald Trump announced last June that $50 billion worth of Chinese goods would be subject to 25 percent tariffs in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit.

Since then, the two countries have exchanged several rounds of trade tariffs. At the G20 summit in Argentina in December, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a "truce" in their tariff war to allow room for a new trade agreement. The so-called truce is reportedly set to end on March 1.

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