China-US Trade: Third round of talks seem to provide little hope

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02:39

Ties between the two countries took a sudden turn after the Trump administration said it will proceed to sanction Chinese goods. But Beijing is urging Washington to keep its promises in resolving frictions. CGTN's Xu Xinchen has more.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is in Beijing for talks with hopes of easing tensions. This is the third round of trade talks between China and the United States, as Washington, once again, announces it's working to finalise planned trade sanctions on China.

GAO FENG, SPOKESMAN CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "The White House's statement is unexpected, but also anticipated. We hope the trade cooperation between China and the US can benefit the people of the two countries, and we don't want to see trade frictions escalating."

"Surprised, but not unexpected". But China still says its door for negotiations remains open.

HUA CHUNYING, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "Every time a country breaks its promises, it is detrimental to their credit. We urge the US to keep its promises and work together with China according to the spirit of our joint statement in Washington. China always wanted to settle the trade frictions through constructive dialogue."

The US's announcement comes only two weeks after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He's visit to Washington, where both sides agreed to avert a trade war. The two sides reached a joint statement, stressing they would encourage two-way investment, and commit to creating a business environment encouraging fair competition.

LU KANG, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "Consultations are meant to address each other's concerns, increase mutual understanding, and work toward compromise."

It's been close to a month since China and the US began trade talks. The first talks began on May 3rd in Beijing after the US announced an investigation into steel imports from China. The second round was in Washington and the third round sees a return to Beijing.

During his visit to the US, President Xi Jinping's special envoy, Vice Premier Liu, says measures being discussed would help both countries -- boosting China's economy while reducing the trade deficit.

Liu also says the world's second-largest economy plans to increase imports from the US and the rest of the world to meet domestic demand and support high-quality development.

LIU HE CHINESE VICE PREMIER "To develop our economy through opening-up has been proved successful in the last four decades. And we will continue down that path in the future."