China says US-China trade teams in contact ahead of G20

BEIJING (AP) - China says its trade negotiators are talking to their U.S. counterparts on how to resolve disputes ahead of an expected meeting between their two heads of state at the G20 meeting in Japan later this week.

Wang Shouwen, a Commerce Ministry vice minister, said Monday the sides were seeking to "consolidate the important consensus reached between the two leaders" in a telephone discussion last week. Wang gave no further details.

China and the U.S. are in a stalemate after 11 rounds of talks over trade and technology issues that have led to both sides raising tariffs on hundreds of billions of each other's goods.

In a major blow, the U.S. Commerce Department has effectively barred U.S. companies from selling or transferring technology to Huawei Technologies, a champion of Chinese industry.