Kim visit overshadows US, China trade talks

BEIJING, Jan 08 (AFP): US officials held a second day of trade talks with Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Tuesday, overshadowed by an unannounced visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

This is the first time the two sides have met face-to-face since US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a tariff truce during a meeting in Argentina on December 01.

The talks between the US delegation-led by Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish and including officials from the Treasury, Commerce, Agriculture and Energy departments-and the Chinese side were still ongoing late Tuesday, a source told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

Negotiators are seeking to resolve a number of thorny issues that have threatened an all-out trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

These include more Chinese purchases of US goods and services to reduce a yawning trade gap, increased access to China's markets, stronger protection of intellectual property and a reduction in Beijing's subsidies.

Neither side has provided any details about the talks.

The temporary ceasefire came after the two sides imposed import duties on more than $300 billion of each other's goods.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that China's economy was more vulnerable to the fallout from the trade war.

"It certainly has hurt the Chinese economy," Ross told CNBC, noting that China exports many more goods to the United States than the other way around.

Ross said there was a "very good chance" of reaching an agreement, although monitoring compliance would present a challenge.

Without a resolution, punitive US duty rates on $200 billion in Chinese goods are due to rise to 25 per cent from 10 per cent on March 02.

The second day of trade negotiations coincided with an unannounced visit by North Korea's Kim for talks with Xi in Beijing, amid speculation of a second meeting between Kim and Trump.