By Nick Baum
WEDNESDAY – 4/24/19
High-level trade talks between the United States and the People’s Republic of China will resume next week in an effort to reach a deal regarding the ongoing trade war. In a statement made late Tuesday, the White House announced that Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be traveling to Beijing on April 30 and plan on staying longer if necessary.
There are also further plans for Liu He, the top economic advisor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, to travel to Washington DC to finalize an agreement starting May 8. In the same statement, the White House announced that next week’s talks will cover “trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement.”
Despite the White House’s announcements, China hasn’t publicly confirmed the ongoing negotiations. The United States and China have the two largest economies in the world, and it is believed by many that the two nations are slowly approaching a deal that will end the over year-long trade war. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that any trade deal would be “the granddaddy of them” all and “very monumental.”
Sources and Pictures: The Daily Beast, CNN, The White House