‘Back on track’: China and US agree to restart trade talks

The United States and China agreed on Saturday to restart trade talks and Washington will not levy new tariffs on Chinese exports, China’s foreign ministry said, raising hopes for the world’s two largest economies to resolve their trade war.

In their nearly year-long dispute, the two countries have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s imports, disrupting global supply lines, roiling markets and dragging on global economic growth.

“We’re right back on track and we’ll see what happens,” US president Donald Trump told reporters after meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Japan.

The 80-minute meeting with Mr Xi was “excellent, as good as it was going to be,” Mr Trump added.

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In a lengthy statement on the talks, China’s foreign ministry said the United States would not add new tariffs on Chinese exports, and added that negotiators of both countries would discuss specific issues, but gave no details.

Mr Xi told Mr Trump he hoped the United States could treat Chinese companies fairly, it added. On the issues of sovereignty and respect, China must safeguard its core interests, Mr Xi said.

Before the talks, Mr Trump had threatened to extend existing tariffs to cover almost all imports from China into the United States if the meeting brought no progress on wide-ranging US demands for economic reforms.

The dispute, which includes a feud over Huawei Technologies Co had also fanned fears it could threaten global growth.

Financial markets were likely to welcome the news.

“Returning to negotiations is good news for the business community and breathes some much needed certainty into a slowly deteriorating relationship,” said Jacob Parker, a vice-president of China operations at the US-China Business Council.

At the start of Saturday’s talks, Mr Xi stressed the need for dialogue rather than confrontation.

Mr Trump responded that a fair trade deal with China would be “historic” and he hoped “We can go on to do something that truly will be monumental and great for both countries.”

The United States says China has been stealing American intellectual property for years, forces US firms to share trade secrets as a condition for doing business in China, and subsidizes state-owned firms to dominate industries.

China has said the United States is making unreasonable demands and must also make concessions.

Talks collapsed in May after Washington accused Beijing of reneging on reform pledges. Mr Trump raised tariffs to 25 per cent from 10 per cent on $200 billion of Chinese goods, and China retaliated with levies on US imports. – Reuters