US and Taiwan reach agreement on first part of trade pact

There will be a meeting between China and the US

Meanwhile, the top trade officials from China and the United States will meet next week in Washington, a diplomatic spokesman from Beijing said on Thursday, in a new attempt by the economic powers to approach positions and remedy damaged relations.

Spokesman Liu Pengyu made the announcement at an online press briefing at the Chinese embassy in Washington, adding that his country is open to communication at all levels with the United States, but only on the basis of mutual respect.

A source familiar with the plans said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will meet with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington next week before traveling to Detroit for the Forum for Cooperation officials’ meeting. Asia Pacific Economic Area (APEC).

Wang will also meet with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The meetings are scheduled for May 25 and 26.

Spokesmen for the offices of Tai and Raimondo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Washington has expressed enthusiasm for high-level meetings with China in an effort to prevent increasingly tense relations from sparking further conflict.

President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with China’s head of diplomacy Wang Yi last week in Vienna, and both sides acknowledged the need to move on from the spy balloon incident that affected relations between the superpowers, said a senior Washington official.

Biden has been trying to arrange a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but neither side has offered any further details about this contact or about the possibility of rescheduling a visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. .

Blinken postponed a trip in February after the United States shot down a balloon of Chinese origin that was flying over sensitive military complexes.

“It is imperative for the US side to adopt a correct perception of China and we hope it will return to a rational and pragmatic policy so that both countries can better develop and prosper together,” Liu told reporters.