At the U.S.-China summit meeting held on the 14th of this month, while the maintenance of dialogue at the senior level was being discussed, a face-to-face meeting between senior officials in charge of trade policy from both countries was held in Thailand to continue dialogue. We agreed to go.
The head of the U.S. Trade Representative Office, who is in charge of trade policy under the U.S. Biden administration, Thai Trade Representative, and China's Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, are on the 18th in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, where the APEC = Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit is being held. We met face-to-face for the first time.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement after the meeting, saying the Thai trade representative emphasized the importance of discussing trade between the two countries and maintaining channels of dialogue.
China's Ministry of Commerce also said it had a candid and constructive exchange of views on trade issues and agreed to continue communication.
With both sides agreeing to continue dialogue, there is likely to be interest in whether the two countries, which are also in conflict on the economic front, can lead to full-fledged negotiations over tariffs and trade practices.
Dialogue between the two countries was stalled after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August this year, but at the U.S.-China summit meeting held on the 14th of this month, high-level dialogue began. U.S. Secretary of State Brinken is expected to visit China early next year.