1 On the eve of a new round of trade talks aimed at preventing a China-U.S. trade war, China said on Tuesday it hoped U.S. negotiators would be flexible and that an early settlement could be reached.
2 The United States wants to see substantial progress in China's fight against piracy of U.S. software, movies and music before Feb. 26.
3 If there is no progress in intellectual property rights protection, the United States plans to impose 100 punitive tariffs that will double the cost of more than dlrs 1 billion of Chinese exports to the United States.
4 China plans to enact counter-measures if U.S. sanctions go into effect.
5 Lee Sands, the head of the U.S. negotiating team, arrived in Beijing Tuesday afternoon.
6 According to a U.S. Embassy spokesman, some preliminary contact between the two sides was possible on Tuesday, and Wednesday would be the first full day of talks.
7 The official Xinhua News Agency quoted an official of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation as saying China hoped the U.S. negotiators would be flexible and that an agreement could be reached soon.
8 The official called for 'positive and constructive efforts to promote the healthy development of Sino-U.S. trade ties,' Xinhua said.
9 Nearly two years of talks have failed to resolve the problem of piracy. The latest round of talks broke down on Jan. 28, a few days before China's celebration of the lunar New Year.

The United States wants to see substantial progress in China ' s fight against piracy of U . S . software , movies and music before Feb . 26 .
piracy
What portion of piracy of American media takes place in China?