Trade Talks with China Resume

Over the next two days senior government officials from the U.S. and China will convene for trade talks in Washington, D.C. This second round of negotiations will test the resolve of the Trump administration, who outlined the structural changes China would need to make in order to address U.S. concerns over forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft three weeks ago at the previous round of lower level talks in Beijing.

The lead negotiator for the U.S. is United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Leading the Chinese delegation is Vice Premier Liu He, who is expected to present China’s list of counter proposals.

The meetings are expected to conclude by mid-afternoon on Thursday. At that time, observers are hopeful that the two sides will present the framework of an agreement to end the escalating trade war, or at the very least, agree to continue negotiations in hopes of reaching a deal before U.S. tariffs more than double in early March.