China and the US are in close communication on trade, officials in Beijing and Washington said, days before tit-for-tat tariffs are due to go into effect.
US President Donald Trump yesterday said the US was “very close” to nailing down a trade deal with China. “Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China,” Trump posted on Twitter. “They want it, and so do we.”
During a regular briefing on Wednesday in Beijing, Gao Feng, spokesman at the Chinese commerce ministry, told reporters “The two sides’ economic and trade teams are maintaining close communication.”
US negotiators have offered to cut existing tariffs on $360bn in Chinese goods by as much as 50%, and suspend tariffs due to go into effect on December 15, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The White House had no comment on the report.
Gao declined to comment on possible retaliatory steps if Washington imposes more tariffs on Chinese goods this weekend.
The US is due to impose tariffs on almost $160bn of Chinese imports such as video game consoles, computer monitors and toys on December 15.
Trump was expected to meet top trade advisers to discuss the move, sources told Reuters previously.
A decision to proceed with the levies could roil financial markets and scuttle US-China talks to end the 17-month-long trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
The countries agreed in October to conclude a preliminary trade agreement, but talks have failed to produce deals on agricultural purchases by China and rollbacks of existing tariffs imposed by the US.
Many analysts had expected a deal ahead of December 15.
Beijing has said it would retaliate if the US escalates the trade dispute.
In August, China said it would impose 5% and 10% in additional tariffs on $75bn of US goods in two batches.
Tariffs on the first batch kicked in on September 1, hitting US goods including soybeans, beef, chemicals and crude oil.
The tariffs on the second batch of products are due to be activated on December 15, affecting goods ranging from corn and wheat to small aircraft and rare earth magnets.
China also said that it will reinstitute on December 15 an additional 25% tariff on US-made vehicles and 5% tariffs on auto parts that had been suspended at the beginning of 2019.
President Donald Trump thanks participants after speaking at the White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave in Washington, DC, yesterday.
