Trade

Trade talks to continue in September in the US

Key Points
  • In the latest talks in Shanghai this week, the two sides discussed China increasing its purchase of American farm goods and the U.S. creating "favorable conditions" for it, Xinhua said.
  • In the midst of the talks, President Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets criticizing China's trade practices.
  • The next round of "high-level" talks will convene in the U.S. in September, the state media said.
  • The White House said Wednesday that the two sides discussed topics such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights, services, nontariff barriers and agriculture.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump chat at a G-20 event a day before their highly anticipated bilateral meeting.
Bernd von Jutrczenka | picture alliance | Getty Images

The U.S. and China will resume trade negotiations in Washington in early September after the two countries discussed increasing Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products in the latest talks in Shanghai.

The two sides conducted "frank, efficient and constructive in-depth exchanges" on major economic and trade issues, and they discussed China increasing its purchase of American farm goods and the U.S. creating "favorable conditions" for it, Chinese state-run media Xinhua said Wednesday, adding that the next round of "high-level" talks will convene in the U.S. in September.

The White House said Wednesday that the two sides discussed topics such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights, services, nontariff barriers and agriculture.

"The Chinese side confirmed their commitment to increase purchases of United States agricultural exports. The meetings were constructive, and we expect negotiations on an enforceable trade deal to continue in Washington, D.C., in early September," the statement from the press secretary said.

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This week's two-day meetings in Shanghai was the first in-person trade talks since a G-20 truce. In the midst of the talks, President Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets criticizing China's trade practices, claiming that it's not buying more U.S. agricultural products as it promised to do.

"China is doing very badly, worst year in 27 - was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now - no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don't come through," Trump wrote Tuesday.

He alleged that China may be awaiting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

"They should probably wait out our Election to see if we get one of the Democrat stiffs like Sleepy Joe...The problem with them waiting, however, is that if & when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now...or no deal at all," Trump said.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a truce in June at the G-20 summit in Japan after the trade talks collapsed in May that prompted a steep U.S. tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The Trump administration also blacklisted Huawei, forcing U.S. companies to cut ties with it. China later said a deal will not be reached unless the existing tariffs are stripped.