China cancels sorghum probe but refutes US trade surplus offer

China’s foreign ministry has refuted widely reported claims that Beijing offered to reduce its trade surplus with the US by $200bn each year.

The offer, which reportedly included China buying more US goods and making new trade concessions, was played down by ministry spokesman Lu Kang, Reuters reports.

“This rumour is not true. This I can confirm to you,” he said. “As I understand, the relevant consultations are ongoing and they are constructive.”

Talks are continuing in Washington today, with both sides seeking to avoid a damaging trade war.

In another significant development, China indicated this morning that it was dropping an anti-dumping investigation into imports of US sorghum, a food crop, which had been hampering a trade worth $1.1bn, CNBC reports.

The abandonment of the probe is almost certainly intended as a good-will gesture timed to coincide with the talks, and is perhaps a response to President Trump’s supportive comments regarding troubled Chinese tech firm ZTE on Monday.

The Chinese Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Liu Xiaoming, will be speaking at Asia House on the prospect of a US-China trade war on 21 May. Details here.