Wang Shouwen, China’s vice-minister of commerce, chose a culinary anecdote on Saturday to illustrate why he thought there was still good faith in the trade negotiations with the US, despite jitters on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
At a lunch break during the last round of talks in Washington, Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, ordered a Chinese dish of chicken and eggplant, while Liu He, China’s vice-premier and top economic official, had a hamburger. Each honoured the other’s cuisine, Mr Wang recalled, and both had water to help them find “common ground”.
Negotiators were in contact “day and night” and making “full efforts” to finalise a pact, he told a press conference in Beijing on Saturday.