Tech tensions persist but China and US make high-level call to keep talking

In the second high-level exchange between China and the United States in a week, the two countries have agreed to keep channels of communication open as tensions persist over trade disputes and technology restrictions.

Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and his US counterpart Christopher Landau held a phone call on Thursday, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.

“They exchanged views on China-US relations and important issues of common concern. Both sides agreed to continue to maintain communication,” the ministry said in a readout released on Friday morning.

In a separate readout, the US state department said the two officials discussed “a wide range of issues of mutual interest”.

“They acknowledged the importance of the bilateral relationship to the people of both countries and the world … and agreed on the importance of keeping open lines of communication,” it said.

The phone call came after Ma met newly arrived US envoy to China, David Perdue, in Beijing on Tuesday, where they held “candid and in-depth” exchanges on bilateral issues.

These high-level exchanges come amid continued clashes between the US and China on multiple fronts under President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. Beijing was the country hardest hit as Trump targeted trade partners with high levies on April 2, until an agreement this month temporarily eased these tariffs to pave the way for future trade talks.

  

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