WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials are restarting negotiations in an effort to resolve the year-long trade dispute, with two days of talks due next week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday.
The dialogue in Shanghai on Tuesday and Wednesday will be the first face-to-face meetings since negotiations collapsed in May after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments.
Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead the US delegation.
The White House said in a statement the talks, with Vice Premier Liu He, will “cover a range of issues, including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, the trade deficit and enforcement.”
Senior officials have spoken by phone twice in the last two weeks in the bid to jump start the negotiations.
Mnuchin said on CNBC he hopes to make progress but added there are “a lot of issues” pending so he expects another round of talks would follow in Washington.
At a meeting in Japan last month, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to cease further hostilities in the year-long trade war while the two sides worked to revive negotiations.
The countries have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade and Trump has threatened even more punishing duties on Chinese goods.
That truce halted Trump’s plan to hit China with another round of punishing tariffs on $300 billion in goods. The International Monetary Fund warned that that step added to existing tariffs would cut global economic growth by 0.5 percent.
Washington is demanding Beijing end theft of American technology, and open its economy further to imported goods and foreign investment.
Stock markets were cheered when word of possible talks emerged Tuesday but the good news was overshadowed Wednesday by disappointing earnings results from Boeing and Caterpillar — which specifically pointing to weakening demand in China.
The trade dispute has become enmeshed in a national security conflict that led Washington to impose tough sanctions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei, sharply curtailing the company’s operations angering Beijing.
The Trump administration has put Huawei on its so-called Entity List, which means US companies need a license to supply it with US technology.
Huawei — a leader in next-generation 5G wireless technology — remains barred from developing 5G networks in the United States, and the Trump administration is trying to convince its allies to do the same.
Mnuchin implied that the Huawei case is on a separate track from the trade talks. The Commerce Department is looking at applications for waivers from the sanctions.
He also downplayed concerns about links between Google and Beijing.
“We’re not aware of Google working with the Chinese government in a way that raises concerns,” Mnuchin said.
“They assured us that there is very, very limited work. The only work they’re doing is some minimal open source work.”
Trump last week said he wants his administration to “take a look” into whether Google has been working with the Chinese government — an allegation swiftly denied by the US Internet giant.
US, China to resume trade talks next week
US, China to resume trade talks next week
- The dialogue in Shanghai on Tuesday and Wednesday will be the first face-to-face meetings since negotiations collapsed in May
- Stock markets were cheered when word of possible talks emerged Tuesday
Saudi POS spending jumps 28% in final week of Jan: SAMA
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale spending climbed sharply in the final week of January, rising nearly 28 percent from the previous week as consumer outlays increased across almost all sectors.
POS transactions reached SR16 billion ($4.27 billion) in the week ending Jan. 31, up 27.8 percent week on week, according to the Saudi Central Bank. Transaction volumes rose 16.5 percent to 248.8 million, reflecting stronger retail and service activity.
Spending on jewelry saw the biggest uptick at 55.5 percent to SR613.69 million, followed by laundry services which saw a 44.4 percent increase to SR62.83 million.
Expenditure on personal care rose 29.1 percent, while outlays on books and stationery increased 5.1 percent. Hotel spending climbed 7.4 percent to SR377.1 million.
Further gains were recorded across other categories. Spending in pharmacies and medical supplies rose 33.4 percent to SR259.19 million, while medical services increased 13.7 percent to SR515.44 million.
Food and beverage spending surged 38.6 percent to SR2.6 billion, accounting for the largest share of total POS value. Restaurants and cafes followed with a 20.4 percent increase to SR1.81 billion. Apparel and clothing spending rose 35.4 percent to SR1.33 billion, representing the third-largest share during the week.
The Kingdom’s key urban centers mirrored the national surge. Riyadh, which accounted for the largest share of total POS spending, saw a 22 percent rise to SR5.44 billion from SR4.46 billion the previous week. The number of transactions in the capital reached 78.6 million, up 13.8 percent week on week.
In Jeddah, transaction values increased 23.7 percent to SR2.16 billion, while Dammam reported a 22.2 percent rise to SR783.06 million.
POS data, tracked weekly by SAMA, provides an indicator of consumer spending trends and the ongoing growth of digital payments in Saudi Arabia.
The data also highlights the expanding reach of POS infrastructure, extending beyond major retail hubs to smaller cities and service sectors, supporting broader digital inclusion initiatives.
The growth of digital payment technologies aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives, promoting electronic transactions and contributing to the Kingdom’s broader digital economy.
