White House announces members of US delegation to China for trade talks

WASHINGTON - The White House on Saturday announced the members of a US delegation that will participate in trade talks with China this weekend.

The US delegation is led by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, accompanied by US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud, the White House said a statement.

The upcoming talks are a continuation of the talks held in Beijing one month ago and in Washington two weeks ago. The two sides issued a joint statement in Washington last month, vowing to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

China urged the US side to keep its promise on bilateral trade issues, and act in accordance with the spirit of the joint statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Wednesday.

China has consistently advocated handling and settling economic and trade differences in a constructive manner through talks, which is in the fundamental long-term interests of the two countries and the two peoples, and the common aspiration of the international community, she said.