The world’s two largest economies remained on track to commence a $100bn trade war as early as this month, after a third round of China-US trade negotiations ended in Beijing on Sunday without a breakthrough.
Last week US president Donald Trump said he would move to implement previously threatened tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese industrial exports “shortly” after June 15, which Beijing has promised to reciprocate.
US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and vice premier Liu He did not issue a joint statement after they wrapped up two days of discussions. The previous round of talks, held in Washington in mid-May, ended with only a vague promise by Chinese officials to “substantially” reduce their country’s trade surplus with the US.