The U.S. and China concluded two days of negotiations on a potential trade deal Thursday, with both sides claiming the talks were productive.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading the Chinese delegation, said in an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday that China would buy 5 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans a day, though White House later clarified that China would buy just 5 million metric tons—but not daily, and no time frame was specified.
President Trump announced Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will meet with the Chinese delegation in mid-February in China to continue negotiations. Both sides agreed to work toward an agreement before a mutually agreed-upon March 1 deadline.
Should the talks not yield an agreement before March 1, President Trump has said he will move to increase tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports.
President Trump also suggested via Twitter meeting directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the March 1 deadline to conclude negotiations. President Xi sent President Trump a formal meeting invitation in January.
In a press release Friday, the White House noted the “two sides showed a helpful willingness to engage on all major issues.” The talks covered a “wide range of issues,” including “the need to remove market barriers and tariffs that limit U.S. sales of manufactured goods, services, and agriculture to China,” according to the release.
The talks were “candid, specific and constructive,” according to an official Chinese news release published by the state Xinhua News Agency on Friday. In the Oval Office meeting Thursday, Vice Premier He said both delegations focused the talks on three themes: “trade, structural issues and enforcement.”
