China today announced that it will hold a new round of talks on trade with the United States in Washington later this month; there is a glimmer of hope for progress in resolving this conflict, which put the financial markets in crisis.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce will meet with US representatives led by Under-Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs. Analysts expect that these talks will not lead to a breakthrough in the crisis because of lower-ranking officials as the talks are led by the US Treasury Department and not the US Trade Representative.
Also, there is still a wide gap between the two parties about Washington's demands to improve access to Chinese markets and the protection of intellectual property and reduce the trade deficit, which reached $ 375 billion with China.
It is unclear whether the talks will take place before or after August 23 as it is scheduled that United States to activate an additional tariff on $ 16 billion of Chinese goods, and China responded that it would reciprocate.
The last official tour between the two sides was in early June when the US Commerce Secretary met with the Chinese vice premier in Beijing. The next meeting will be held at a lower level compared to four previous rounds of talks.
