China has made plans with US for ‘face-to-face meeting’ over trade in January

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that Beijing and Washington have made plans for a face-to-face meeting over trade in January. Consultations through “intensive” telephone calls will continue in the meantime, according to Gao Feng, spokesman at the ministry. Consultations have been steadily moving forward despite the Christmas break in the US, Reuters quoted Gao as saying. A US trade team will travel to Beijing the week of January 7 to hold talks with Chinese officials, Bloomberg said on Wednesday. A meeting next month would be the first in-person talks since US President Donald Trump met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Buenos Aires on December 1.