China says trade talks with U.S. will resume soon

Aug. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. and Chinese negotiators will resume trade talks "in the coming days" to review the Phase 1 deal that led to a pause in the conflict, Beijing said Thursday.

The talks will take place by phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commerce ministry said. Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said talks will "evaluate progress" of the first-stage agreement.

The White House signed the deal in January, saying it addressed topics such as intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The deal was hailed as the springboard toward further talks.

Trump said this week he canceled trade talks with Beijing because of how China handled the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't want to talk to China right now," Trump said at a campaign stop. The president has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 derisively as the "China virus."

Word of renewed talks come amid new tensions between the two nations over Chinese companies Huawei, TikTok and WeChat.

The state-run Global Times reported that Beijing has contacted U.S. officials to create conditions for implementing the Phase 1 deal.