Senior trade representatives of the United States and China held their first round of face-to-face talks in months on Tuesday.
However, sources in Shanghai where the two-day meeting is taking place say little headway was made on day one... on reaching a compromise that would satisfy both sides.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
U.S. and Chinese negotiators resumed trade talks in Shanghai on Tuesday,... hoping to take steps to rebuild trust on numerous key issues.
Washington's delegation,... led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had dinner with the Chinese delegation,.. headed by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
During their brief discussions,... the U.S. side looked to pick up Chinese orders for American farm goods,... while the Chinese pressed Washington to relax U.S. restrictions on Huawei's access to American technology.
However, sources say little to no progress was made at the dinner.
President Trump put pressure on Beijing to swiftly reach a deal in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning,... warning that if he's re-elected next year,... the terms of the agreement "will be much tougher" than now... or there may be no deal at all.
The trade war, which began last summer,.. has depressed trade between the two economic superpowers.
U.S. exports to China tumbled more than 30-percent on-year in June,... while imports from China decreased by nearly 8-percent.
However, watchers are more optimistic this time around,... saying the selection of Shanghai as the location for the talks could be a signal of China's willingness to strike a deal.
They base this on the fact that twelve years ago,... China and the European Union agreed to a deal in Shanghai that ended a temporary curb on Chinese textile exports to the EU.
Despite the lack of progress,... there's hope for some kind of breakthrough on Wednesday when more formal talks take place at a government guesthouse in Shanghai.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.