U.S., China Trade Talks: Side-By-Side Comparison of Statements

Andrew Mayeda, Bloomberg News

An A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S container ship and a Hapag-Lloyd AG container ship are docked as shipping containers stand in a terminal at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in this aerial photograph taken in Shanghai, China, on Friday, March 23, 2018. , Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- They agreed to keep talking. That was the main takeaway after a week of negotiations in Beijing between the U.S. and China in an effort to end the trade war.

But there are a couple key differences in the statements from the two countries that underscore the gap that will need to be bridged before any agreement can be signed. Negotiations will continue next week in Washington. President Donald Trump has threatened to more than double tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports if the two sides don’t reach a deal by March 1, though the president indicated again on Friday that he’s considering extending the tariff truce.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison main points of the two statements. The Chinese statement was published by state news agency Xinhua.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Mayeda in Washington at amayeda@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor