As China and the United States prepared for more trade talks, the Chinese Commerce Ministry spoke to the media about the latest efforts to end the two countries' trade dispute and the problems facing the telecom companies ZTE and Huawei. Wang Hui reports.

A changing global economy with issues to be ironed out. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng says Vice Premier Liu He has held multiple rounds of talks with his American counterparts by phone. Despite some progress, the two sides have a lot of work to finish to seal a deal between the two countries. Gao releases the schedule of the fresh round of trade talks in Beijing.

GAO FENG, SPOKESMAN CHINESE COMMERCE MINISTRY "The US delegation will arrive in Beijing late Thursday afternoon. Then the two sides will have a working dinner. They will hold all-day negotiations Friday. The two teams are doing their best to conduct serious talks to implement the two leaders' important consensus."

Gao adds that Vice Premier Liu will visit Washington for the ninth round of the talks next month. The US-China trade dispute has gone on for a year, affecting many Chinese companies, including ZTE and Huawei, two of the nation's telecom giants. Both are also leading China's 5G race. The two companies have also suffered obstacles in their Japanese market.

WANG HUI BEIJING "Tokyo announced it would get rid of the products of the ZTE and Huawei from the list of the governments' purchases at the end of last year. Recently, the Japanese government announced the distribution of the spectrum of the country's 5G network. So, many are wondering if Japan's communication operators will be able to continue using the products of these two companies. What's your comment on this issue?"

GAO FENG, SPOKESMAN CHINESE COMMERCE MINISTRY "We are aware that the two companies' normal businesses have been damaged. We hope Tokyo will stick to its free trade commitments, treat Chinese enterprises fairly, and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. We hope Japan provides a fair, transparent, and predictable business environment for all the enterprises in Japan, including Chinese ones."

WANG HUI BEIJING "The spokesman says China doesn't want to see trade protectionism rising in Japan, which supports free trade. He says if Tokyo's action will be unfair, it will shake the mutual trust between the two countries, and the confidence of cooperation between enterprises, and damage the positive trend of the bilateral relations between the two countries. Wang Hui, CGTN, Beijing."