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U.S. and China agree to restart trade talks in D.C.

Chinese flags and American flags are displayed in a company in Beijing on August 16, 2017
Photo: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images

China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement Thursday that its trade representatives will fly to Washington, D.C., in early October to resume stalled trade talks with the United States, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: Per Axios' Neal Rothschild, President Trump's trade war has led to bigger trade deficits with China, even though it was intended to improve the trade balance. It's dented consumer sentiment, and the International Monetary Fund has said the prolonged trade tensions were weighing down the global economy.

  • Trump slapped more tariffs on China this month — about $110 billion of Chinese imports. The Chinese government responded with retaliatory taxes.
  • The U.S. is set to raise tariffs to 30% on largely nonconsumer items on Oct. 1. China is due to retaliate by raising taxes on American items such as soybeans.

Details: Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone and agreed to meet, state-run China Central Television said, per the Wall Street Journal.

  • The U.S. side confirmed the phone call to the WSJ and said a high-level meeting would take place in D.C. in the coming weeks. "Both sides said deputy-level officials would work together in mid-September to lay the groundwork," the Journal notes.

Go deeper:

U.S. China trade war