US ambassador Branstad: US, China still far apart on trade - Reuters

As reported by Reuters, US ambassador to China Terry Branstad noted that the two countries remain very far apart on trade resolution.

Key quotes

"Washington and Beijing have proposed tens of billions of dollars in tariffs in recent weeks, fanning worries of a full-blown trade war that could hurt global supply chains and dent business investment plans.

Earlier this month, a U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin presented China with a list of demands to tackle allegations of intellectual property theft and other trade policies Washington considers unfair.

The two countries failed to reach an agreement on the long list of U.S. demands, and decided to resume talks in Washington.

Branstad, who was present at the meeting, said the Chinese appeared to be “taken back” by the significance of the list.

“The Chinese have said ‘we want to see the specifics.’ We gave them all the specifics in terms of trade issues. So they can’t say they don’t know what we’re asking for,” he said.

“We’re still very far apart,” Branstad said, saying that China has not met pledges to open up its insurance and financial services area, as well as reduce auto tariffs."