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U.S., China to Plan Resumption of Delayed Trade Deal Talks

The U.S. and China plan to reschedule trade-deal talks postponed from last weekend aimed at reviewing progress.

U.S., China to Plan Resumption of Delayed Trade Deal Talks
The Northern Jubilee container ship sails under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg)

The U.S. and China plan to reschedule trade-deal talks postponed from last weekend aimed at reviewing progress at the six-month mark of the agreement between the world’s two biggest economies, according to a person familiar with the matter.

While the date hasn’t been set, the review will take place soon, the person said, declining to be identified.

The video-conference call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin never made it on to official public calendars in Washington or Beijing, though the South China Morning Post reported it was first planned for Aug. 15.

U.S., China to Plan Resumption of Delayed Trade Deal Talks

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he called off last weekend’s trade talks with with the Asian nation, raising questions about the future of a deal that is now the most stable point in an increasingly tense relationship.

Talks between the U.S. and China continue regularly at lower levels, according to Greg Gilligan, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, on Aug. 13 said the trade deal is going well, repeating comments he’d made earlier in the week and saying that the principals had a phone call coming up to review the deal. He dismissed concerns that rising tensions between the two countries might jeopardize the pact.

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