U.S.-China trade negotiations end with no result

Two days of U.S.-China trade discussions ended in Beijing on Friday with an agreement to keep on talking, and little else, according to Bloomberg.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday afternoon that both sides reached a consensus on some trade issues, without providing details. They also acknowledged major disagreements on some matters and will continue communicating to work toward making more progress.

The U.S. delegation, led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asked China to decrease the trade deficit by at least $200 billion by the end of 2020 compared with 2018, according to a document sent ahead of the trade talks in Beijing that was seen by Bloomberg News. By early afternoon Friday neither side had flagged plans to give a briefing on the discussions, and the American team was scheduled to depart Friday evening.