On the way to becoming ‘good friends’

Trump: Agreement likely as discussions are going well

US and Chinese negotiators are holding their first face-to-face talks since the world’s two largest economies agreed to a truce aimed at resolving their trade dispute. Both China and the US agreed to follow through on the consensus reached by their leaders to conduct positive and constructive talks in resolving any kind of dispute. Both sides also said they aim to settle their differences and work together for the good of the world.

BEiJing: China and the United States want to work together on trade, the Chinese foreign ministry said, as the world’s two largest economies resumed talks in a bid to end their trade dispute.

US officials are meeting their counterparts in Beijing this week for the first face-to-face talks since US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed last month to a 90-day truce in a trade war that has roiled international markets.

Trump said on Sunday that trade talks with China were going very well and that weakness in the Chinese economy gave Beijing a reason to work toward a deal.

“I think we will make a deal with China,” Trump said at the White House, noting that talks were underway “at the highest levels”.

With the Chinese economy slowing, “I really think they want to” reach an agreement, he told reporters. “I think they sort of have to.”

The two sides agreed to hold “positive and constructive” talks and dialogue to resolve economic and trade disputes in accordance with the consensus reached by the countries’ leaders, Lu Kang, a spokesman at the foreign ministry, told reporters yesterday.

“From the start, we have believed that China-US trade friction is not a positive situation for either country or the world economy. China has the good faith, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, to resolve the bilateral trade frictions,” Lu said.

Trump imposed import tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods last year, and has threatened more to pressure Beijing to change its practices on issues ranging from industrial subsidies to intellectual property to hacking. China retaliated with tariffs of its own.

“As for whether the Chinese economy is good or not, I have already explained this. China’s development has ample tenacity and huge potential,” Lu said.

“We have firm confidence in the strong longterm fundamentals of the Chinese economy.” — Reuters