国内英语新闻:Sino-US trade talks advance amid close contact: MOC

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States are advancing their trade talks with close communication on details, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

"The Chinese side welcomes the U.S. team to visit China for consultation and is open to visiting the U.S. for communication," MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a news conference.

Gao said the two countries had reached consensus on specific issues including agricultural products, energy and automobiles. "Soybean has always been an important kind of agricultural import from the U.S. given the huge demand in China."

Gao said more details of the trade talks would be released.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who currently heads the China-U.S. trade talks, spoke with U.S. officials on Tuesday, and the two sides exchanged views on implementing the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries and on the timetable and roadmap to push forward the trade talks.