China warns all talks will be void if US imposes sanctions
BEIJING: China has warned that the United States that the outcome of trade talks will be void if Washington imposes trade sanctions including tariffs on Chinese goods, state media reported Sunday quoting a government statement issued at the end of two-day high-level talks between Chinese and US trade officials.
The talks were led by US Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese vice-premier Liu He in Beijing.
“The outcome of the talks should be based on the prerequisite that the two parties meet each other halfway and will not engage in a trade war,” official news agency, Xinhua reported quoting from the statement.
“All economic and trade outcomes of the talks will not take effect if the US side imposes any trade sanctions including raising tariffs,” the statement said. “The attitude of the Chinese side remains consistent.” China, it said, was willing to increase its quota of imports as it was part of the country’s national strategy.
“To meet the people’s evergrowing needs for a better life and the requirements of high- quality economic development, China is willing to increase imports from other countries, including the United States, which will benefit people of both countries and the rest of the world,” the statement said.
The two-day talks in Beijing which ended on Sunday followed an earlier round in Washington where officials had met to discuss the situation.
“To implement the consensus reached in Washington, the two sides have had good communication in various areas such as agriculture and energy, and have made positive and concrete progress while relevant details are yet to be confirmed by both sides,” the statement said.
The two sides issued a joint statement in Washington last month, vowing to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.