China-US Trade Talks: High-level meeting wraps up in Beijing

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02:13

After days of talks in Beijing, China and the United States settled part of the ongoing trade dispute and agreed to stay in contact. But big differences remain. CGTN's Wang Hui reports.

The two sides were led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. China's state news agency Xinhua reports they had candid, effective, and constructive discussions on trade between the world's two largest economies.

American and Chinese officials discussed increasing US exports to China, bilateral service exports, investments, intellectual property, and the resolution of tariff and non-tariff trade measures. Consensus was reached in certain areas, and the two sides say they will stay in touch to bridge the gap on other issues.

Officials also discussed recent US measures targeting the Chinese telecommunications hardware giant ZTE. Mnuchin and his team said it would relay China's stance on the issue to President Trump.

The trade dispute was triggered in March by a US investigation that alleged the theft of American intellectual property and forced technology transfers imposed by China.

Beijing called the investigation a typical unilateral action based on protectionism. The US has also announced a plan to impose tariffs on some 13-hundred types of Chinese goods, worth about 50 billion US dollars.

In response, Beijing has imposed tariffs on US imports of around the same value. These duties cover major US exports such as soybeans, cars, and aircraft. Trump countered by threatening tariffs on 100 billion US dollars worth of Chinese goods. Beijing has announced retaliatory measures, vowing to fight back against other potential measures.

WANG HUI BEIJING The Chinese Foreign Ministry says the trade relationship between China and the US is complex, and that two days of talks were never supposed to settle all issues. But with both sides committed to keeping communication lines open, the meetings in Beijing may prove to be the turn of the knob that keeps simmering trade tensions from boiling over. Wang Hui, CGTN, Beijing.