Anchor: U.S. and Chinese negotiators have concluded talks on settling the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. Both sides positively assessed negotiation results and left open the possibility of holding further talks. However, they appear to be at wide odds over contentious issues, including intellectual property protection. 
Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: Vice minister-level trade officials from the U.S. and China concluded negotiations in Beijing on Wednesday after three days of discussions. The U.S. was represented by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish while China was represented by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen.  

The talks were held after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in early December to a 90 day truce in the trade war.

The two sides appear to have made headway in getting China to buy more American products and further opening up its market. 

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that the talks “focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States.”

China’s Commerce Ministry also issued a brief statement, saying the two sides had laid the foundation to resolve the trade dispute. 

However, both Washington and Beijing stopped short of elaborating on what they actually agreed on during the three-day talks. 

It appears that they failed to narrow differences of opinion on intellectual property rights protection and slashing subsidies China provides to its state-owned firms that compete with U.S. companies.

The Chinese commerce ministry did, however, add that the two sides agreed to continuously maintain close contact, raising the possibility of higher-level talks taking place. 

Washington and Beijing are likely to decide on further negotiations after reviewing the results of the latest talks. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.