Senior official to discuss trade ties in US

AT the invitation of the US government, senior Chinese official Liu He will visit the United States from today until Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that the two sides will exchange views on China-US relations and bilateral cooperation on economy and trade during Liu’s visit.

Liu, who has a master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, is 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.

A senior US official said last week that there will be discussions on trade disputes with Liu when he visits Washington.

On the US side, the talks will be led by President Donald Trump’s trade envoy, Robert Lighthizer.

The discussions will take place as Trump considers new tariffs on steel imports. The US official said Trump had been discussing imposing a global tariff on imports of steel from China and other countries.

The US Commerce Department recommended that Trump impose stiff curbs on steel imports from China and other countries and offered the president several options, ranging from global and country-specific tariffs to broad import quotas.

A blanket tariff on steel would cover every steel and aluminium product entering the US market from China, the world’s largest steel producer.

China has said it is ready to defend its interests, and has accused Trump of undermining the global system for regulating trade by taking action under US laws instead of through the World Trade Organization.