US, China Trade Talks on Tap

The U.S. and China will hold two days of trade talks starting today in Washington. The sessions will take place between U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass and Chinese Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen.Expectations from the talks vary, with China expressing hope that the sessions will at least bring some progress. "We certainly hope that a mutually beneficial and acceptable solution could be reached through friendly consultations on the basis of reciprocity, equality and good faith," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said. "This is the right thing to do, not only for the consumers and business communities of the two sides but also for the international community."However, President Donald Trump downplayed the potential for any major developments to emerge from the sessions. Trump told Reuters he did not "anticipate much" to come from the sessions, saying also he had "no time frame" for ending the dispute with China.Trump was also non-committal about meeting with President Xi Jinping in November during international events the two are scheduled to take part in.Meanwhile, the talks in Washington also unfold as the U.S. has said it will deploy tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on Aug. 23 and China has said it will respond in-kind with tariffs on that amount of U.S. products.Plus, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is holding six days of hearings that run through Aug. 27 on imposing tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods.