High level trade talks between the United States and China will resume next week as the world’s top two economies move closer to a deal.
The White House said in a statement late Tuesday that Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for negotiations starting April 30.
Liu He, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, would then lead a delegation to Washington for further talks beginning May 8.
The White House said the talks next week would “cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement.”
The latest round of negotiations have not yet been confirmed by the Chinese side.
Washington and Beijing are believed to be edging towards an agreement that could end a trade war that has dragged on for more than a year and hurt global economic growth. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that any trade deal would be “the granddaddy of them” all and “very monumental.”
China has also expressed optimism that an agreement could be struck soon. Earlier in April, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that American and Chinese negotiators had “reached new consensus on such important issues as the text of the … trade agreement.”