BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has arrived in Beijing for talks on China’s promise to buy more American goods after Washington revived tensions by renewing its threat of tariff hikes on Chinese high-tech exports.
The talks focus on adding details to China’s May 19 promise to narrow its politically volatile surplus in trade in goods with the U.S., which reached a record $375.2 billion last year.
President Donald Trump threw the talks into doubt this week by renewing a threat to hike tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods over complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. Analysts say while Beijing is willing to compromise on trade surplus, it will resist changes that might threaten plans to transform China into a global technology competitor.
