Chinese official set to visit US, discuss trade

A top Chinese official is heading to the US for an official visit this week, and will hold talks with US officials on bilateral trade relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, will visit the US from Tuesday to Saturday to exchange views with US counterparts on bilateral ties and Sino-US economic and trade cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a briefing on Monday.

In January, Liu led the Chinese delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Liu’s visit comes as China and the US have seen a rising number of trade frictions in recent months.

As of February 17, the US had imposed 169 anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on steel imports, 29 of which targeted China. The US has also taken measures against China-made aluminum and several other investigations are ongoing. Other goods involved in US trade friction with China include cast iron soil pipe fittings and large diameter welded pipes.

In January, the US also announced tariffs of up to 50 percent on imported washers for the next three years and of up to 30 percent on solar cells and modules for the next four years.