China, US discussing fresh trade talks in September

The parties were "still discussing" the possibility of meeting in September, as planned following the last round of negotiations, Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng said at a press conference.

Gao added that the "most important thing now is to create the necessary conditions for continuing the negotiations".

The statement came after US President Donald Trump said on Monday that fresh trade negotiations could take place "very shortly".

Gao reiterated that China firmly opposed the escalation of the trade war and was committed to resolve the issue through negotiations and cooperation, according to Efe news.

The Ministry spokesperson also urged the US to call off the imposition of additional tariffs to avoid further escalation in the trade dispute.

The US had said on Friday that tariffs will be hiked from 25 to 30 per cent on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from October 1, and from 10 to 15 per cent on goods worth $300 billion from September 1.

This was in response to Beijing's announcement on Friday that it will increase tariffs from 5 to 10 per cent on $75 billion worth of US goods.

Since March 2018, China and the US have been involved in a trade war that has affected a large part of the global trade and the tensions have also have affected other spheres, including technology and diplomacy.

( With inputs from IANS )