China urges efforts to boost steady China-U.S. trade ties

Gao Feng, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, speaks at a press conference in Beijing on May 10th, 2018. [Photo: meldingcloud.com.cn]

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce is calling for joint efforts to properly manage and control differences between China and the United States, in a bid to boost sound development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

Gao Feng says that China and the U.S. are working on arrangements for the upcoming visit by Vice Premier Liu He to Washington D.C. to discuss bilateral economic and trade ties.

During a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping said that both countries should continue to communicate and cooperate, in order to properly handle their trade disputes and achieve mutually beneficial, and win-win outcomes.

President Trump expressed his willingness to make concerted efforts to strengthen cooperation in various fields and to promote the U.S.-China relations.

Gao Feng says the two sides should continue to work together in a spirit of cooperation.

"China does not want a trade war, but we are not afraid of one. We hope that under the guidance of the two heads of state, both countries will uphold the principle of mutual respect and consultation on the basis of equality, carry on their in-depth communication, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, manage and control differences, and jointly boost the sound, stable development of China-U.S. economic and trade ties," says Gao.

On April 3rd, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a proposed list of goods from China that would be subject to an additional 25% import tariff.

The proposed list covers about 1300 products worth around 50 billion U.S. dollars a year.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold a public hearing about the tariffs on May 15th.

Gao Feng says China's stance on the tariffs has always been clear, and will remain unchanged.

"We oppose such unilateralist and protectionist acts. The United States must put away the stick of threat. We will resolutely safeguard the interests of our country and our people. We hope the two sides can make concerted efforts to ensure the ship of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation sails smoothly and steadily, achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results, and benefits both countries and their peoples," says Gao.

China's trade surplus in the first four months of the year reached 506.24 billion yuan, or nearly 80 billion U.S. dollars, a reduction of around 24%.

Gao Feng says that China has never pursued, and will never pursue, a policy of maintaining a trade surplus.

"It is not our goal to have a trade surplus. We hope that the development of China's foreign trade will not only benefit its own economy and people, but also become an important force for promoting prosperity among all its trade partners, and benefit the global economy and people all around the world," says Gao.