The U.S. and China ended the second day of high level talks Friday aimed at avoiding a possible trade war.
The U.S. delegation, headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will brief President Donald Trump Saturday and “seek his decision on next steps,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the administration had “consensus” for “immediate attention” to change the U.S.-China trade and investment relationship.
“We will be meeting tomorrow to determine the results, but it is hard for China in that they have become very spoiled with U.S. trade wins!” Trump said in a Twitter post late Friday.
“Both sides recognize there are still big differences on some issues and that they need to continue to step up their work to make progress,” China said in a statement released by Xinhua state news agency.
An editorial Saturday by China’s ruling Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, however, said that “in the face of the U.S.’s fierce offensive of protectionism, China resolutely defends its national interest,” adding that Beijing “will never trade away its core interests and rejects the U.S.’s demand for an exorbitant price.”
The announcement followed comments by Mnuchin earlier in the day that the two sides were having “very good conversations.”
Trump has threatened to levy new tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese imports while Beijing shot back with a list of $50 billion in targeted U.S. goods.
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