US China trade talks to resume in Washington

The talks between the US and China to end a damaging trade war will resume from February 19 in Washington, the White House has announced.

The talks follow a round of negotiations that ended last week in Beijing without a deal but which officials said had generated progress on contentious issues between the two trading partners.

The talks are aimed at "achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China. The two sides will also discuss China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the United States," the White House said in a statement.

The two countries are running against time to arrive at a trade deal before the March 1 deadline set by President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade spat since early 2018, raising import tariffs on each other's goods.

Last year, Trump imposed tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on USD 250 billion of Chinese goods. The move prompted China to increase tariffs on USD 110 billion of US goods.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to halt any further tariff increases for 90 days beginning January 1.