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US-China Talks to Kick-Off Monday With ‘New Goodwill’ - White House Adviser Kudlow

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Stalled US-China trade talks will kick-off on Monday with negotiators from both sides bringing "new goodwill" to the table to try and strike a deal, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview.
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"There will be a principals-level meeting on Thursday and Friday and, as I understand it, on Monday and Tuesday, another deputies level meeting will be convened to go through the agenda", Kudlow told FOX News on Friday. "And I say, coming into this, there’s a certain amount of new goodwill".

High-level US-China trade negotiations broke off in May after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. The White House had originally stated October 10 as the date for the resumption. The schedule given by Kudlow suggests that the talks would start again on 7 October.

"So far, as I know, everything is on the table and I think the sort of mood music, the background music, is quite decent right now and it’s improved from where it might have been last summer", Kudlow said.

He said he did not want to predict the outcome but added that US President Donald Trump has stated his wish for a deal and believed China wanted one as well.

Kudlow also said that it has to be a good deal covering all the issues like protection against intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer, referring to two of Washington’s key demands from China.

"It’s got to be the right deal for America. So, I think they [China] are open-minded here", Kudlow said.

Since talks broke off in May, Trump has warned China in tweets that it should make a deal with Washington soon or face "much tougher" conditions for an agreement later.

China is currently engaged in a trade war with the United States, which accuses Beijing of unfair commercial practices. Since June last year, the two countries have exchanged several rounds of import duties and subsequent talks to settle their trade-related disagreements.

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