The United States opened the door to a dialogue on free trade with China after the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, dominated by trade tension threatening global growth.
IMF Director-General Christine Lagarde said at the closing press conference of the meetings, "There has been some progress towards dialogue”, emphasizing that “there is a determination on necessity to avoid a trade war."
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared to reporters on the sidelines of the fund's meeting that he intended to visit China to continue discussions on the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing after tensions escalated since early March. "I'm thinking about that, but I will not add any further details about the date of the visit," he said.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce welcomed the idea of the visit, saying that "China has received news of the American side's desire to go to Beijing for consultations on economic and trade issues, and China welcomes this."