Xi meets with trade negotiators
President points to important progress, says cooperation is best choice for both
China would like to address the problems of economic and trade frictions with the United States in a cooperative way to promote the conclusion of a deal acceptable to both sides, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.
Xi made the remark while meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Beijing. The meeting came after the conclusion of two days of high-level economic and trade consultations.
Xi added that certain principles are necessary for cooperation.
Chinese and US consultation teams made important progress for the current stage, and the two negotiating teams will meet again in Washington next week for further discussions, Xi said. He added that both nations should make more efforts for a win-win deal.
The two countries’ economic and trade teams have had frequent and helpful consultations since December, Xi said. He has emphasized many times that cooperation is the best choice for China and the US.
Cooperation will bring benefits to the two countries while conflicts will injure both sides, he added.
Xi called China-US ties one of the world’s most important bilateral relationships, and the two countries have wide common interests and shoulder important responsibilities in safeguarding world peace and promoting global prosperity.
Maintaining the healthy and stable development of the China-US relationship is in line with the fundamental interests of the people of both countries, and it is also the common wish of the international community, Xi said.
Xi mentioned his latest meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Argentina in December, saying that the two of them reached important consensuses.
The two countries should promote building stable, cooperative and coordinative China-US relations, Xi said. The two sides should enhance communication, focus on cooperation and handle disputes to promote economic and trade cooperation, Xi added.
The US team expressed the willingness to make joint efforts with the Chinese team to strive for the conclusion of a deal that meets the interests of both sides.
“We bring the best wishes of President Trump. He’s asked us to state that he also places great importance on his personal relationship with you,” Lighthizer said.
“We have had two very good days of negotiations. We feel that we have made headway on some very, very important and very difficult issues,” he said. “We have additional work we have to do but we are hopeful.”
Xi asked Lighthizer and Mnuchin to extend his greetings to President Trump, saying that he cherishes their good working relationship.