Ministry of Commerce confirms talks between Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US officials will take place at the weekend over ‘important issues’.
The two sides will “consult on important issues in China-US economic and trade relations” in keeping with the “consensus reached during multiple phone calls by the two nations’ leaders this year”, the ministry confirmed in a statement on its official website.
The coming negotiation will mark the fifth round of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies and serve as a prelude to an expected meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in South Korea.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on social media last week that he and the Chinese vice-premier “engaged in frank and detailed discussions” over a video call, adding that the two sides planned to meet in Malaysia.
Before the announcement, trade tensions between the countries had flared up this month amid a barrage of economic sanctions, export controls and a warning of 100 per cent tariff hikes from Trump, threatening to undo months of negotiations and multiple extensions of a temporary truce after the conflict peaked in April.