China dispatching senior trade negotiator to the US
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Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang will reportedly meet US officials and business figures this week.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - China is sending a key trade negotiator to the US, a move that indicates some degree of interaction between the two sides is resuming after they agreed on a truce in their trade dispute.
Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang will meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Department officials this week, The Wall Street Journal said on Aug 26, citing people familiar with the matter. He will also also meet US business figures, it added.
When asked if Mr Li was heading to the US, a spokesperson for the US government told Bloomberg News that the Chinese official may meet with deputy-level officials, not Mr Greer or Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The trip was not part of a formal negotiating session, the spokesperson said, adding that the US welcomed China’s efforts to reduce its persistent trade surplus with the US.
The Chinese ministries of foreign affairs and commerce, and the US Embassy in Beijing, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The trade fight between the world’s two biggest economies has been in a period of calm since earlier in August when US President Donald Trump extended a pause on higher tariffs
The pause has given the countries more time to discuss other unresolved issues such as duties tied to fentanyl trafficking that Mr Trump has levied on Beijing, US concerns about Chinese purchases of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil and disagreements around American business operations in China.
Beijing sending Mr Li to the US is “a bullish sign for a deal that will unlock a summit” between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Mr Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst on the China and north-east Asia team at Eurasia Group, who once worked as a diplomat in China and Japan.
Mr Trump has said repeatedly he wants to meet Mr Xi
China named Mr Li vice-commerce minister and trade envoy earlier in 2025. He had been China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organisation. BLOOMBERG
