US-China trade talks end without any resolution

US-China trade talks on the ongoing trade tensions between the two countries have ended without any significant breakthrough. Mid-level officials met for two days in the first talks since early June, in an attempt to deescalate the ongoing conflict, reported The Strait Times.

South China Morning Post reported the Chinese Commerce Ministry as saying that both sides engaged in “constructive and frank exchange” over trade issues, and that the US reaffirmed its commitment to “achieving fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship” while “addressing structural issues in China such as those identified in the Section 301 report”.

The talks, however, ended without any result as both sides continued to harden their official stances. Amidst discussions, Washington imposed another round of 25 per cent tariffs, hitting Chinese products such as semiconductors, plastics, chemicals and railway equipment. The two countries have now targeted US$50 billion of each other’s goods and threatened duties on most of the rest of their bilateral trade.

The United States continues to believe that it is winning the trade war because the Chinese economy is showing signs of a slowdown. Economists, however, continue to be apprehensive over the trade war as every US$100 billion of imports hit by tariffs could reduce global trade by around 0.5 percent, according to CNBC.