China's Vice Premier Liu He, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were on the call. The two sides discussed each other's core issues for the first phase of an initial trade agreement, and agreed to maintain close communication, according to Xinhua. Xinhua gave no other details in its report on Sunday. An agreement had appeared likely in May, but those prospects were dashed after US negotiators said China backed away from the text of a draft agreement. Concerns flared again last week amid reports that the trade talks had hit a snag over how and when to reduce tariffs, and how much US agricultural products China would commit to buy.

Source: bd News24 November 17, 2019 02:48 UTC