China, US to hold annual trade talks in Washington

Xinhua 2016-11-12

BEIJING —China and the United States will hold their annual talks on commerce and trade in Washington, D.C., a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Nov 11.

The 27th Session of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) is slated for Nov 21 to 23, spokesperson Lu Kang said at a routine press briefing.

Vice-Premier Wang Yang, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Trade Representative Michael Froman will co-chair the talks. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will also attend.

In the last high-level economic dialogue between China and the US this year, the two sides will exchange ideas of important economic and trade issues, as well as ways to expand cooperation.

On the sidelines of the JCCT, the two sides will also hold a CEO roundtable conference, and conferences on the digital economy and agriculture and food.

In 2015, the US was China’s second largest trade partner, biggest export market and the fourth largest source of imports. China was the largest trade partner and import source, and the third export market of the US. The bilateral trade volume of goods stood at $558.4 billion, with more than $160 billion of mutual investment.

Launched in 1983, the JCCT was the first high-level economic dialogue mechanism between China and the US, and plays an important role in China-US economic cooperation and addressing economic and trade frictions.