Beijing – Chinese trade delegates are still preparing for negotiations in Washington starting on Wednesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Chinese trade delegates are preparing, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Chinese goods by Friday.
China “still hopes’’ it can work together with the United States to achieve a “win-win agreement,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a news conference on Monday.
“Regarding the next round of economic and trade consultations, we are still gathering information about the situation,’’ Geng said. “I can tell you the Chinese team is preparing to go to the U.S. for negotiations.’’
On Sunday, Trump said that tariffs on 200 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods will rise from 10 to 25 per cent on Friday, stating that trade negotiations were moving “too slowly.’’
The announcement rattled markets and reportedly took Chinese officials by surprise as there had been discussions about the two sides reaching a trade deal by the end of the week.
Chinese shares tumbled following the announcement, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index diving 5.58 per cent by the end of Monday’s trading session.
