Beijing’s top economic adviser is to visit Washington next week, rekindling cautious optimism that China and the US can negotiate their way out of a trade impasse.
The White House on Monday confirmed the visit of Liu He, China’s vice premier, with experts saying the move suggested — despite their hardline rhetoric — that both Beijing and Washington were eager to avoid triggering a trade war.
“It will be the second leg of the high-level consultation, showing that both sides hope to keep on the momentum of consultation,” said He Weiwen, a former commerce ministry official and now a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think-tank.
