Some see promise in Washington's talk of easing sanctions on ZTE

Vice-Premier Liu He will visit the United States as President Xi Jinping's special envoy from Tuesday to Saturday for economic and trade talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Liu will lead a delegation in talks with the US team headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the invitation of the US administration, said Lu Kang, the ministry's spokesman.

These will follow high-level meetings in Beijing on May 3 and 4. Both sides are expected to continue discussing issues like expansion of US exports to China, trade in services, two-way investment, the protection of intellectual property rights and the resolution of tariff and non-tariff measures, said Tu Xinquan, a trade professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he has instructed the Commerce Department to help China's ZTE Corp get back to business, and Lu said China appreciates the latest positive comment on ZTE. He said China has maintained close communication with the US.

ZTE, a major telecom equipment manufacturer, said last week it would suspend major operations following last month's move by Washington to ban US companies from selling certain computer chips to the Chinese company until 2025.