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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has resumed discussions with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, about a deal that would ease trade tension, ahead of a meeting of the leaders of China and the US set for the end of the month.
The two spoke on Friday, said people briefed on the conversation, said the U.S. that China put forward a concrete offer before negotiations on a trade deal can take place. Chinese officials are resisting and saying they want to talk first before making a formal proposal. They worry that they do not have the right to do so, say officials in both countries.
The Friday conversation did not lead to any breakthrough in these issues.
Some U.S. officials who take a hard line towards China say they think the Chinese will make an offer before the two leaders meet at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires. At most, they say, the U.S. and China might be able to reach a kind of ceasefire in the trade, with the U.S. refraining from increasing tariffs. That could be followed by detailed negotiations. But even a limited ceasefire may prove difficult.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has not yet been able to meet the expectations of G-20 summit.
Chinese officials do not expect to resolve the trade dispute at the G20 meeting. Instead, they are hoping for a broad framework of a deal, which would be followed by negotiations on the details.
At a mega-trade show in China, Global Business and Political Leaders were looking for hints of Xi Jinping's strategy ahead of planned trade talks with President Trump. Photo: Reuters
The White House's National Economic Council would be acceptable. But the administration remains bitterly divided on China trade, with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer arguing that the U.S. needs to continue with tariffs to get China to make necessary concessions.
At G-20 meetings, Treasury and the White House usually take leading roles, not USTR.
Mr. Xi and President Trump on Nov. 1. A day later Mr. Trump said "I think we'll make a deal" with China. His remarks were made before the mid-term elections, making it difficult to judge.
The U.S. has put tariffs on $ 250 billion of Chinese imports. Of that, levies on $ 200 trillion of goods are set to increase to 25% from 10% on Jan. 1, unless Mr. Trump agrees to suspend the increase. The U.S. is also putting the finishing touches on most of the rest of China's imports-about another $ 250 billion, though mobile phones and perhaps laptops may be exempted, say people familiar with the administration's thinking.
Spokesman for the US Treasury and Chinese Embassy in Washington.
Beijing has been sending signals that could be enticing to Mr. Trump. At a Shanghai import fair last week Mr. Xi said that China expected to import services worth $ 10 trillion over the next 15 years. Should that occur, U.S. firms would be in line to get a big share.
Around the same time, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang puts with leaders of six multilateral institutions. They are cooperating with each other in the process of escalating and resolving tensions, "according to the group's communications.
But many Trump administration officials, including Mr. Lighthizer, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and officials in the defense establishment are deeply skeptical of China's record in carrying out such pledges.
During the last two weeks, some of them have a background in China and solid connections with Trump officials, and have been meeting with Chinese leaders. They include former Secretary Secretary Hank Paulson and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has been working on the U.S. opening to China in 1972.
Mr. Kissinger has been especially visible, with Mr. Xi and Mr. Liu, the Chinese negotiator. U.S. officials say he is not acting as intermediary.
"There is a consistency in the (Chinese) messages that can be seen by optimists as the outlines of a deal," Michael Pillsbury, who often consults with the administration, said. "But it's not an offer."
Mr. Pillsbury's book, "The Hundred-Year Marathon," argues that Beijing uses stealth and misdirection to try to replace the U.S. as the world's leading power.
Write to Bob Davis at [email protected] and Lingling Wei at [email protected]
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