U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a telephone meeting to assess the Phase One agreement’s progression.
In a statement by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the parties discussed “steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.”
USTR said the two sides “see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.”
The Xinhua News Agency said the discussion was a “constructive dialogue on such issues as strengthening bilateral coordination of macroeconomic policies and the implementation of the China-U.S. Phase One economic and trade agreement.”
The United States exported just $7.274 billion in agricultural goods to China in the first half of the year, the U.S. Census Bureau said.
