China Denies US Claims

China denied on Friday that it had offered a package to slash the US trade deficit by up to $200 billion, hours after it dropped an anti-dumping probe into US sorghum imports in a conciliatory gesture as top officials meet in Washington, Reuters reported. US officials had said in Washington on Thursday that China was proposing trade concessions and increased purchases of American goods aimed at cutting the US trade deficit with China by up to $200 billion a year. “This rumor is not true. This I can confirm to you,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing. “As I understand, the relevant consultations are ongoing and they are constructive,” he said, adding that he could not elaborate on the specifics of the negotiations. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is in Washington this week for talks with US officials led by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin aimed at heading off a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.