Washington, Beijing agree to hold next round of trade talks in October

United States and Chinese negotiators have agreed to hold next round of high-level trade talks in Washington in early October, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

China's Vice Premier Liu He early on Thursday held a telephone conversation with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during which they agreed on hold the next round of trade talks, according to CCTV.

Earlier reports suggested that the 13th round of talks on settling the bilateral trade dispute might be held in September. The previous round of negotiations took place in Shanghai in late July.

A 15% trade penalty on $300 billion worth of goods imported from China entered force on Sunday, part of a punishment announced on Twitter by US President Donald Trump. The move followed a Chinese tariff imposition on $75 billion of imports from the US, itself part of a response to a previous round of US trade barriers against the developing nation.

The presidents of the United States and China had previously met on the sidelines of the Osaka G20 summit earlier in June, during which President Trump said he was ready to reach a mutually acceptable trade agreement. In less than a week however, he announced 10 percent tariffs, blaming China for not keeping a promise to buy more US farm products.