US, China resume high-stakes poker in trade talks

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (AFP): With a month left in their truce, senior US and Chinese officials will meet in Washington this week, hoping to move toward a bargain to end their unprecedented trade war.
Beijing's trade envoy, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, will lead a 30-members delegation at the invitation of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is heading up the American effort.
At a meeting in Argentina last month, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to bury the hatchet provisionally -with Trump delaying a sharp increase on US duties for $200 billion in Chinese goods until March 01.
Washington has made its demands clear: China must agree to far-reaching "structural" reforms in its trade practices, curbing massive state intervention in markets and the alleged theft of American technological know-how, including through hacking and the forced transfer of intellectual property.
Trump also wants to cut the soaring US trade deficit with China, which in 2017 hit a record $375 billion, not including trade in services.
Since last year, the world's two largest economies have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, with the largest amount, more than $250 billion, imposed by Washington.
The American president's protectionist moves have begun to weigh on the Chinese economy, which last year posted its slowest economic growth in nearly three decades, causing Trump to claim he has the upper hand in the talks.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday Washington and Beijing remained "miles and miles" from the finish line in their talks, cautioning against putting too much hope for a final resolution at this week's talks.