In This Article:
(Corrects wording on tariffs in the fourth paragraph)
* U.S., China plan first talks since June amid trade war
* Talks to be led by lower level officials than previous rounds
* U.S. and China set to implement new tariffs on Aug. 23
* Kudlow: Don't underestimate Trump resolve in China trade fight Chances low for significant progress resolving dispute-analysts
By Michael Martina and David Lawder
BEIJING/WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - China and the United States will hold lower-level trade talks this month, the two governments said on Thursday, offering hope that they might resolve an escalating tariff war that threatens to engulf all trade between the world's two largest economies.
Still, White House Economic adviser Larry Kudlow warned Beijing not to underestimate President Donald Trump's resolve in pushing for changes in China's economic policies.
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen will meet U.S. representatives led by Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the talks in Washington would take place on Aug. 21 and 22, just before new U.S. tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese goods take effect, along with retaliatory tariffs from Beijing on an equal amount of U.S. goods.
While the engagement was seen by analysts and business officials as positive, they cautioned that the talks were unlikely to lead to a breakthrough, given they involve lower-level officials, led on the U.S. side by the Treasury Department, not the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
There also remains a wide gap between the two sides over Washington's demands that Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U.S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a $375 billion trade deficit with China.
Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, declined to comment on the specific goals of the Malpass-Wang talks.
"It is a good thing if they're sending a delegation here. We haven't had that in quite some time," Kudlow told CNBC television.
"The Chinese government in its totality must not underestimate President (Donald) Trump's toughness and willingness to continue this battle, to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers and quotas, to stop the theft of intellectual property and to stop the forced transfer of technology," Kudlow added.
News of the meeting boosted the Chinese yuan and helped cap losses in China's stock markets..
It had little effect on U.S. stocks, which retreated on reports Trump had disclosed classified information to Russia's foreign minister about operations in Syria, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record intraday highs.