The U.S. will send a high-level delegation to Beijing next week as trade negotiations with China continue.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will head to Beijing for talks that start on April 30, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. They will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
Following those talks, Liu will lead a delegation to Washington for further discussions that begin on May 8.
The world's two largest economies have been embroiled in a trade dispute since last year that spooked world markets and hurt global growth. The Trump administration imposed levies on $250 billion of Chinese goods, and China retaliated by placing its own tariffs on $110 billion of American products.
Both sides have met several times in a bid to hammer out a deal to end their protracted trade war. The talks so far have focused on a range of issues including forced technology transfer and structural reforms. Washington has also accused Beijing of intellectual property theft — something China has always denied.
Earlier this month, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that a new consensus on a U.S.-China trade agreement had been reached. Chinese President Xi Jinping, through a message conveyed by Liu, told President Donald Trump that both sides had made new and substantial progress on key issues regarding trade in the past month, Xinhua reported.
Here is the statement released by the U.S. press secretary:
At President Donald J. Trump's direction, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for continued negotiations on the trade relationship between the United States and China. The talks will begin on April 30, 2019. Vice Premier Liu He will lead the talks for China. The Vice Premier will then lead a Chinese delegation to Washington for additional discussions starting on May 8, 2019.
The subjects of next week's discussions will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement.