Top US and Chinese officials have resolved most of the issues standing in the way of a deal to end their long-running trade dispute but are still haggling over how to implement and enforce the agreement, people briefed on the talks have said.
Liu He, China’s vice-premier, was preparing to meet Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, for a potentially climactic negotiation session starting Wednesday in Washington. The talks are the latest in a series of meetings over the past four months.
Although an agreement was within reach, the two sides remain apart on two key issues — the fate of existing US levies on Chinese goods, which Beijing wants to see removed, and the terms of an enforcement mechanism demanded by Washington to ensure that China abides by the deal.