Chinese political experts and policymakers are going through the campaign speeches of US President-elect Donald Trump to look for hints about his future trade and foreign policies that would define his administration's stance on economic relations in Asia.

China's foreign affairs ministry said on Friday that Vice Premier Wang Yang is set to confer with US officials in Washington on November 21-24 in the latest high-level economic talks between the two nations.

Like Us on Facebook

Wang is scheduled to hold talks with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and US Trade Representative Michael Froman. Members of the Trump transition team are likely to join the discussions.

Sino-US trade relations

Lu Kang, foreign ministry spokesperson, however, did not confirm that there will be possible talks between Wang and the Trump representatives but said that Beijing is ready to cooperate and make joint efforts with the new president to improve the development of Sino-US trade and economic relations.

Lu said that if Wang and the Chinese delegates hold talks with Trump's team, the vice premier would have the opportunity to find clues about the president-elect's future foreign policy on trade.

The spokesperson said Trump had made ridiculous policy pledges during his campaign including promising to impose a 45 percent tariff on imported Chinese-made goods.

Decode

Beijing is very much in the dark on what Trump could do as it scrambles to gather information and attempts to decode every word and action of the president-elect.

"We, like other countries in the world, will wait and see what kind of policies the new U.S. government under the leadership of Mr. Trump will adopt," Lu said.

Professor Shi Yinhong of the Renmin University of China said Beijing could suffer heavy trade damage if Trump pursues his brand of protectionism.

"Trump's brand of protectionism will likely make American economic policy more self-centered than it is now," he said.

TagsUS President-elect Donald Trump, Vice Premier Wang Yang, high-level talks, Trump transition team, Sino-US trade relations, china