US, China to hold trade talks ‘in coming days’: Beijing

China and the US have agreed to hold trade talks in the coming days, China's commerce ministry said today.

The brief comments were made in response to a question at the ministry's regular press conference and did not include any further details.

The status of trade talks between the two countries has been plunged into confusion in recent days, after US President Donald Trump said he had postponed talks to review the phase-one trade deal because of his anger over China's handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. A senior US administration official later said no talks had been scheduled.

US exports of crude and other commodities to China have picked up in recent months but are still well below levels required to meet China's purchase commitments under the deal.

By Kevin Foster