U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is in Beijing, posted on Twitter Friday that he has held “constructive” talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
A new deal could possibly end hefty tariffs both countries have imposed on each other during the last eight months. The United States has taxed $250 billion of Chinese imports while China has imposed levies on about $110 billion of U.S. goods.
The United States is demanding wide changes to Chinese industrial policy, including an end to large-scale state intervention in markets, subsidies for various industries and the alleged theft of American technology.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he was confident the United States could strike a deal with China, but added, “If this isn’t a great deal, I won’t make a deal.”
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says the talks are not time-dependent and could last weeks or even months.
