US Trade Representative holds virtual meeting with Chinese counterpart, discuss trade relationship
May 27, 2021
Washington [US], May 27 : US Trade Representative Katherine Tai held a virtual meeting with her Chinese counterpart Liu He on Thursday morning (local time) and discussed the importance of the trade relationship between Washington and Beijing.
During their candid exchange, Tai discussed the guiding principles of the Biden-Harris Administration's worker-centered trade policy and her ongoing review of the US-China trade relationship, while also raising issues of concern, read the statement of Tai.
Meanwhile, Tai noted that she looks forward to future discussions with Vice Premier Liu, added Tai's statement.
The previous time the two sides' top trade negotiators talked was in August during Donald Trump's presidency.
The US and China signed a partial trade deal in January 2020.
Trade negotiators from the two countries were expected to talk every six months to review the progress of implementation of that agreement.
Tai said that the US still faces "very large challenges" in its trade and economic relationship with China that require the Biden administration's attention across the board, reported South China Morning Post.
This comes as the Biden administration is still evaluating China's compliance to the trade commitments it made with the previous Trump era and added that those commitments will ascertain how Washington will move forward in its ties with Beijing.
Biden administration has had a rocky start in the US relationship with China, with officials from the two countries openly bickering before the media at a meeting in Alaska hosted by US State Secretary Anthony Blinken last month.
Both the countries have continued to tussle on issues pertaining to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, South China Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region. The only issue they partially seem to agree on is climate change.
