Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading a trade delegation in Washington, has met U.S. President Donald Trump, state broadcaster China Central Television said on Friday.

A second round of talks between senior Trump administration officials and their Chinese counterparts started at the U.S. Treasury on Thursday morning, focused on cutting China’s U.S. trade surplus and improving intellectual property protections.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had earlier said Trump would meet Liu later on Thursday.

Liu said the two countries should work together with mutual respect to promote stable and healthy ties, the People’s Daily said in a post on an official microblog account.

“China is willing to strive together with the United States to appropriately handle and resolve trade issues felt by both sides on a basis of mutual benefit,” the official newspaper cited Liu as saying.

He said the two sides should push to ensure trade cooperation continued to be a “ballast stone and propeller” of U.S.-China relations.

The paper said Trump had called for strengthening of trade and investment ties in sectors such as energy, manufacturing and agriculture, as well as pushing ahead work on intellectual property protection.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on goods worth up to $150 billion to combat what he says is Beijing’s misappropriation of U.S. technology through joint venture requirements and other policies.

Beijing has threatened equal retaliation, including tariffs on some of its largest U.S. imports, including aircraft, soybeans and autos.

Source: cnbc china
President Trump meets China's Vice Premier Liu He on trade issues: Chinese state media