Comments by China's commerce ministry spokesman, Gao Feng
- Says they have been constantly communicating with US on trade
- Urges US to respect WTO rules, adopt measures to correct abuses
- Discussing details for future talks currently
- Believes that any trade escalation is not in the interest of either country
- Additional tariffs by the US will only hurt interests globally
- China will resolutely defend multilateral trade mechanism
- Hopes US does not find excuses for trade protectionism
It doesn't look like the stance from either side has changed. Despite optimism surrounding the latest round of trade talks, it's hard to see any significant progress on trade when there is so little wiggle room yet so much ego from both sides.
It's surely a matter of time before markets wake up to that reality again.