US Treasury Chief Mnuchin Optimistic Ahead of Talks With China

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview on Monday that he remains upbeat about the prospects of upcoming negotiations with China on trade this week.

“I'm cautiously optimistic about the meetings. I don’t really want to predict what’s going to happen, what’s not going to happen,” Mnuchin told Fox News. “We’re going to go over there and have frank discussions.”

Mnuchin noted in the interview that he is not concerned about China's retaliatory measures in response to US tariffs. He praised President Donald Trump's trade policies and stressed that the economy could not have done better.

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The Treasury secretary will lead the US trade delegation in China this week. The delegation is expected to engage in talks with their Chinese counterparts on the recent tariffs and trade policies.

Last week, the US Trade Representative said China continues to be placed on the Priority Watch List due to intellectual property-related concerns, including theft of trade secrets, online piracy and counterfeiting as well as a high volume of export of counterfeit goods.

Trade relations between China and the United States have deteriorated in recent weeks. In March, US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. In addition, Trump issued a memorandum introducing $60 billion in extra tariffs on China over allegations of intellectual property theft.