China says US invites Beijing for trade talks

ANKARA

China on Tuesday said the U.S. has extended invitation to Beijing for trade talks, local media reported.

To break the ice and reach a possible trade deal, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will head a Chinese official group to Washington for the new round of talks with his U.S. counterparts, Xinhua news reported.

The delegation will travel on Oct. 10-11.

The invitation comes at a time when the U.S. on Monday added dozens of Chinese entities to a trading blacklist for their alleged involvement in a crackdown on ethnic Uighurs in China’s autonomous Xinjiang province.

The list also includes several regional government agencies. By appearing on the so-called "entity list", the firms are barred from buying products from American companies without Washington's approval.

Liu is scheduled to meet and hold economic and trade consultations with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

He represents his country in the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue.

China and the U.S. are engaged in an intense tariff war and Washington wants a "fair" trade deal with Beijing which the duo has not reached yet.