AP, BEIJINGTop Chinese and US trade negotiators have agreed to talks on a preliminary deal for resolving the tariff dispute between the world’s two-largest economies, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said yesterday. Financial markets have been buffeted by conflicting signals for months, with upbeat comments followed by escalations in tensions. China’s Global Times ran a front-page article citing experts dismissing “negative media reports” about the talks. It cited a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of World Economics and Politics, Gao Lingyun (高凌雲), who it said was “close to the trade talks” and said that the two sides might reach a “Phase 1” agreement soon. Gao said that Beijing and Washington had agreed that tariffs would be rolled back as part of such a deal, but had not agreed yet on which tariffs might be removed.
