Top US and Chinese trade negotiators haggled over the details of a set of agreements aimed at ending their trade war last night, just one week before a United States-imposed deadline for a deal expires and triggers higher US tariffs.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that the two sides are starting to sketch out an agreement on structural issues, drafting language for six memorandums of understanding on proposed Chinese reforms.
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by 1 March, US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are set to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent.
Tit-for-tat tariffs between the world's two largest economic powers have disrupted international trade and slowed the global economy since the trade war started seven months ago.
Negotiators have struggled this week to overcome differences on specific language to address tough US demands for structural changes in China's economy, two sources familiar with the talks said.
The issues include an enforcement mechanism to ensure that China complies with any agreements.
"It's not surprising that this week has been more challenging," said an industry source familiar with the talks.
"Once you move from putting together outlines to filling out the details, that is where things would naturally become more challenging."
Chinese officials did not answer questions as they left the US Trade Representative's office after more than nine hours of talks.
The discussions began with a photo opportunity where US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He faced each other silently across a table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House.
US President Donald Trump will meet with Mr Liu at the Oval Office today, the White House has said. The two also met at the end of talks during Mr Liu's last visit to Washington in late January.
Mr Trump, who has embraced an "America First" policy as part of an effort to rebalance global trade, has said the 1 March deadline could be extended if enough progress is made.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters the memorandums would cover forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade.
The two sides remain far apart on demands by Mr Trump's administration for China to end practices on those issues that led Mr Trump to start levying duties on Chinese imports in the first place.
Chinese President Xi Jinping would need to undertake difficult structural economic reforms to meet US demands.
The United States is offering no real concessions in return, other than to remove the tariff barriers Mr Trump has imposed to force change from China.
