China Foreign Ministry Denies Offering US $200Bln Trade Deficit Cut

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang refuted the claims that the Chinese delegation was allegedly going to concede a $200 billion trade deficit cut to the United States during the ongoing negotiations on the bilateral trade dispute.

"These rumors do not reflect the reality. According to the information I have, the consultations are pretty constructive and still ongoing," Lu said at a briefing.

The concessions were reportedly part of Washington's demands which US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated during the previous round of talks which took place on May 3-4.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is currently in Washington for the second round of China-US trade talks. Earlier in the day, several US media reported that the Chinese delegation was preparing to present US President Donald Trump with a massive package of concessions that would cut the US trade deficit by $200 billion annually. The concessions reportedly included China lifting some of its tariffs and purchasing more US goods.

On May 17, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that Beijing would not bargain its ‘core interests’ away in talks with the United States and expressed its hope that Washington would cancel useless trade barriers and aim for mutual benefits during the talks.

READ MORE: China Commerce Ministry Ends Anti-Dumping Probe Into US Sorghum

Beijing calls on Washington to reconsider imposing tariffs on Chinese imports, recall complaints to the WTO against its alleged damping practices and end a probe into intellectual property theft.

According to the US Department of Commerce, the US trade deficit with China stood at $375.2 billion in 2017, increasing $28.2 billion as compared to the previous year. US exports to China amounted to $130.4 billion in 2017, while imports grew to $505.6 billion. The United States mostly buys machinery, furniture, toys and sports equipment from China, and China's top import categories in its trade with the United States include aircraft and grains.