China replies to US demands

– China has delivered a written response to US demands for wide-ranging trade reforms, three US government sources said on Wednesday, a move that could trigger more formal negotiations to resolve a withering trade war between the world’s top economies.

US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on $250 billion (R3.5 trillion) of Chinese imports to force concessions from Beijing that would change the terms of trade between the two countries. China has responded with import tariffs on US goods. Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina at the end of this month and early next month.

Trump has repeatedly railed against Beijing over intellectual property theft, industrial subsidies, Chinese entry barriers to US businesses and the US trade deficit with China. – Reuters

Washington