Mubasher: The US Trade Representative’s office said that a deputy-level meeting between US trade officials and their Chinese counterparts in Washington is set to kick off on Thursday ahead of a high-profile trade talks next October, Reuters reported.

In China, Chinese vice minister of the Finance Ministry Liao Min will head a vice-ministerial delegation to discuss trade and economic issues, the commerce ministry said.

Last week, both Washington and Beijing offered one another gestures of goodwill.

China announced that it would exempt 16 types of US products from additional retaliatory tariffs.

US President Donald Trump decided to postpone tariff hikes on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 1 October to 15 October.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that he aims to secure a “real agreement” that resolves the issues of intellectual property, technology transfer which he raised two years ago, US Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Tom Donohue was quoted by Reuters.

However, Lighthizer did not suggest whether the talks could result in an interim deal, Donohue said.

It would be difficult to reach a deal that comprehensively address US demands for far-reaching changes to the Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices and state subsidies, Donohue noted.