New Delhi: Beijing has offered to boost US agricultural exports by $10 billion in the hope to strike an interim trade deal as the two negotiating teams are set to meet in Washington, Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the talks.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to start talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday.
According to the newspaper, the sides try to avoid another round of tariff hikes scheduled for October 15 and defuse tensions in the run-up to a potential meeting of the two leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month.
"Liu He is coming with real offers, it's not an empty visit. The Chinese are ready to de-escalate," a source said.
Beijing reportedly believes that an offer to increase annual purchases of US agricultural products from the current $20 billion to $30 billion could help the sides to reach a deal, similar to the one signed by the United States and Japan earlier in the week.
Centering around agriculture and other issues, the US-Japan accord is meant to be followed up by a more comprehensive deal in the future.
