Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who leads China’s economic dialogue with the US, spoke on the telephone with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on August 25 on the invitation of the US side. Both sides affirmed they would push ahead with the phase one trade deal inked in January, which requires China to buy at least $200 billion worth of US goods and services in the two years ending 2021.
The call between senior officials of the two biggest economies comes amid strained ties and trade tensions and at a time when the world is struggling to recover from an economy ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.
China’s State Xinhua News Agency said the two sides had “constructive talks” on strengthening economic policy coordination and facilitating implementation of the trade deal. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the discussions involved structural changes to intellectual property rights protection in China, financial services, agriculture and technology transfers, as well as purchases of US products. It added that both sides are seeing progress, and reiterated their commitment to carrying out the trade deal.
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