Negotiators pave way for meeting at G20

Senior officials from China and the United States will communicate in preparation for the meeting between their heads of state in Osaka, Japan, during the G20 Summit next week, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

China hopes that the US will create the "necessary conditions and atmosphere" for evenhanded dialogue, ministry spokesman Gao Feng said. The US should listen to its industries, call off its "wrong practices" and solve problems through consultation and cooperation, he said.

On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone and agreed to meet at the G20 Summit next week. News of the planned meeting raised hopes for a possible breakthrough in the stalled trade talks between the two countries.