Vice Premier Liu He named Xi’s special envoy to fresh trade talks in Washington

Both China and the US on Tuesday announced fresh trade talks in Washington, with Chinese experts predicting that the talks may see some major progress or the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The Ministry of Commerce announced new round of talks led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Tuesday, which, in a rare move, said Liu will travel to the US as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping. The last time Liu was referred to as Xi’s special envoy was for trade talks in the US in May 2018.

For the upcoming seventh round of high-level economic and trade consultations, Liu is scheduled to meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Thursday and Friday, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a routine press conference on Tuesday that China hopes both sides could work together and meet each other half way to strive for a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement. This serves the common interests of China and the US and the expectations of the international community.

Also on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that the US will welcome an official delegation from China for a series of meetings to discuss the trade relations between the two countries. These meetings will be preceded by deputy-level meetings on Tuesday led by Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, according to a statement the US Embassy in China sent to the Global Times.

Chinese analysts said that several important signs have shown that the closely-watched trade talks, likely to be the last round before the March 1 deadline, are extremely critical to both sides in closing a deal before US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods are set to automatically increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on March 2.

“Liu’s position is more important in this new round of talks after being referred to as a special envoy of Xi, and he may be authorized to make significant decisions or sign agreements,” Bai Ming, a deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce’s International Market Research Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

For the US, the upcoming talks are also highly expected as Trump himself gave a welcoming statement.

Bai said that progress and agreements on trade imbalance may happen as both sides appear more willing than ever to solve the disputes a week ahead of the March 1 deadline.

Tuesday’s announcement came amid the Chinese Lantern Festival, when Chinese people celebrated by hanging colorful lanterns and eating glutinous rice dumplings with families.