Chinese, U.S. Trade Negotiators Inch Toward an Agreement U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with President Xi By Lingling Wei
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-u-s-negotiators-expected-to-show-progress-on-trade-deal-framework-11550212318
BEIJING—Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators concluded weeklong talks Friday, making some progress toward a broad agreement aimed at defusing the countries’ trade tensions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The agreement would be in the form of a memorandum of understanding and could serve as the framework for a deal that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could later finalize at a summit, the people said. Negotiators on both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week in Washington, according to the people.
During negotiations this week in Beijing, officials on both sides have been seeking to narrow the still-substantial gap between the concessions China is willing to offer and what the Trump administration will accept.
The memorandum in the works is expected to cover issues related to Beijing’s offers to purchase more American goods and services, accelerating China’s market-opening efforts in sectors such as financial services and manufacturing, as well as improving its protection of U.S. intellectual-property rights.
Thornier issues like how to enforce a trade deal are also expected to be included in the memorandum, the people said.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the lead negotiator, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with President Xi on Friday afternoon before returning to Washington. The U.S. delegation is expected to release a statement on the latest negotiations.
Throughout the talks, sharp divisions remained on items such as how Beijing can address U.S. complaints that China pressures U.S. companies to share technology and that its policies favor state-owned companies at the expense of U.S. competitors. CONTINUE AT SITE
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