US delegates told ‘meet us halfway’

CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang has called on the United States Congress to play a constructive role and work with China to maintain the political and public opinion foundations for Sino-American relations.

Li made the remarks on Tuesday while meeting with a US Congress delegation, led by Senator Steve Daines.

Li said China-US ties had gone through a tortuous journey since the establishment of diplomatic ties, and had been moving forward.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump met and communicated several times, and reached key consensus on bilateral ties and cooperation, Li said.

“The two economies are highly complementary to each other and their cooperation has been continuously expanding,” Li said, adding that friction and differences were inevitable.

“Some age-old trade issues cannot be settled overnight,” the premier added.

“To launch a trade war could never solve problems, and runs counter to the fundamental principles of trade.”

“China will work toward a solution through dialogue and consultation, and is also fully prepared with counter measures,” Li said.

He called on the US side to meet China halfway, which will help to maintain multilateral trade rules and is good for both countries and the whole world.

Daines and senators Charles Grassley, Ron Johnson, David Perdue and Ben Sasse said the US Congress was ready to help to resolve bilateral trade friction in a mutually beneficial way.