WASHINGTON — Trade talks between the U.S. and China failed to produce any visible sign of progress, reducing the prospects of a deal soon, people closely tracking the talks said.
The two sides largely repeated talking points during the discussions, these people said. The Chinese side seemed unready to offer new ways to address the Trump administration’s concerns that the bilateral trade deficit was too steep and that Beijing was coercing U.S. companies into transferring technology to Chinese partners, they said.
The two sides “exchanged views on how to achieve fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship, including by addressing structural issues in China,” the White House said, adding that the U.S. side would brief more-senior officials on the results.
The statement was significant for what it didn’t say as well, people said after the talks. There was no discussion of follow-up talks or any accomplishments. “To get a positive result from these engagements,” the Chinese must address the issues raised by the U.S., a senior U.S. official familiar with the negotiations said. “We haven’t seen that yet.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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