Donald Trump’s administration has put its main programme for bolstering economic relations with China on ice as it complains about the two countries’ swollen trade imbalance, and says Beijing’s efforts to liberalise its economy have gone into reverse.

David Malpass, a top economic diplomat for the administration, said in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday that the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue (CED) with Beijing is “stalled” and that there are no plans to revive talks. The decision comes after the dialogue between the two countries in July ended without any tangible progress. 

The CED is a prominent programme, involving cabinet-level officials in Washington and counterparts in Beijing and aimed at resolving trade and investment issues.