White House confirms new trade talks with China

The White House confirmed on Monday a new round of planned trade talks with China.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States will welcome an official delegation from China for a series of meetings starting on February 19, 2019, to discuss the trade relationship between the two countries,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

{mosads}Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday after a week of senior-level meetings in Beijing to discuss the trade conflict the two countries are engulfed in.

Lighthizer will lead the Tuesday meetings for the U.S. side along with Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, economic adviser Larry Kudlow, and trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Plans for ongoing talks were made between Trump and Xi during the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires in December.

The leaders agreed to 90 days of negotiations to resolve the trade conflict between the two nations.

According to the White House, China and the U.S. “will also discuss China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the United States.” 

The White House has said that if the two countries do not reach a deal, existing 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports will be increased to 25 percent.

The U.S. is reportedly pressing China to agree to guidelines on intellectual property, technology theft and non-tariff trade barriers.