CHINA and the US announced have announced direct trade talks in Washington aimed at ending their tariff war in the coming weeks, reports Bloomberg.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He agreed to a visit 'in early October' during a telephone call with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Commerce.



Any meeting in the immediate future would take place against the threat of increasing US tariffs on Chinese goods, as President Donald Trump's administration is set to iincrease duties October 1 and again in December.



'Neither China nor the US want to be blamed by the rest of world for escalating the trade war and damaging the world economy,' said Zhou Xiaoming, a former commerce ministry official and diplomat. But the talks don't mean the two sides will inch closer or that their stances soften.'



The IMF estimates that the current and upcoming tariffs will shave about 0.8 per cent off global gross domestic product growth in 2020 with the fund forecasting a 3.5 per cent expansion next year.


WORLD SHIPPING