Chinese, US Deputy Commerce Ministers Discuss Bilateral Issues In Phone Talks - Beijing

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2018) Deputy heads of the Chinese and US Commerce Ministries have discussed in a phone conversation a number of bilateral issues, including the protection of intellectual property and trade balance, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the two sides have achieved certain progress.

"The Chinese and US sides have held a phone conversation at the level of the ministries' deputy heads, during which they exchanged views on the trade balance, the strengthening of intellectual property protection and other issues of common interest, progress has been made," the statement said, adding that the conversation took place on Friday.

The two sides also addressed the possibility of organizing further phone conversations and mutual visits.

The world's largest economies are currently embroiled in a major trade dispute.

Following their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on December 1, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, announced a 90-day truce in the escalating trade war. In the meanwhile, Trump agreed to suspend plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10 percent to 25 percent starting from January 1, 2019.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier this week that Washington and Beijing intended to resume trade talks in January 2019.

The United States has repeatedly accused China of unfair trade practices, including theft of US companies' intellectual property and technology. Since the beginning of the year, several Chinese companies and individuals have been charged with stealing trade secrets from US-based companies.