US, China to hold talks today to cut tensions

China and the US are set to hold high-level talks here on Monday to reduce the spiralling trade and military tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to hold talks with top Chinese leaders and officials in a bid to halt the ongoing trade war in which both countries slapped additional tariffs on billions of dollars of their exports.

Announcing Pompeo’s visit, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying last week said that China and the US would exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern. The US defence secretary Jim Mattis too was due to visit but it was cancelled which China said was at the behest of Washington.

The news of cancellation of his visit came after US allegations that Chinese naval ship conducted unsafe manoeuvres near its destroyer Decatur when it passed through the islands off the disputed South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.

Pompeo’s visit was expected to provide an opportunity to both sides to lower the tensions between them. Besides slapping additional tariffs on Chinese exports, the US has also imposed sanctions on a Chinese military unit for securing Russian weapon systems like S-400 missiles and Su-35 fighters.

Also, ahead of the visit both the countries had heated exchanges.

The US vice-president Mike Pence Thursday accused China of interfering in the US internal affairs and elections policies.

Pence said China wants a “different American President” and is using more “proactive and coercive” methods to interfere in America’s domestic policies and politics.

China has refuted Pence’s allegation terming them as “malicious slander”.

Reacting to Pence’s allegations, Hua on Friday said, “the relevant speech made unwarranted accusations against China’s domestic and foreign policies and slandered China by claiming that China meddles in US internal affairs and elections”. “It is very ridiculous for the US side to stigmatise its normal exchanges and cooperation with China as China interfering in its internal affairs and elections,” she said.

Significantly ahead of Pompeo’s visit, Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai said China wants to end the trade war with the US, but that the US position keeps changing “so we don’t know exactly what the US would want as priorities”.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to hold talks with top Chinese leaders and officials in a bid to halt the ongoing trade war