Xi, Trump agree to stop imposing additional tariffs, continue trade talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, agreed here Saturday to continue the trade talks between the two countries and stop imposing new tariffs, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on December 1, 2018, in in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [Photo: Xinhua]

"In a friendly and candid atmosphere, the two presidents had profound discussions that have lasted for two and a half hours. The time was much longer than the schedule," Wang told reporters when briefing on the Xi-Trump meeting earlier in the day after the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Trump's China visit in November last year.

According to Wang, the two presidents reached important common understanding and the meeting certainly has "charted the course for China-U.S. relations in the some time to come."

The two countries shoulder increasing responsibilities for world peace and stability, and they have more common interests than differences, said Wang.

The two presidents agreed that the two countries "can and should" ensure success of China-U.S. relations and that coordination, cooperation and stability should be the defining features of bilateral relations, said the Chinese official.

Wang said the two presidents agreed to keep up close contacts with each other through visits, meetings, telephone calls and correspondences to continue providing guidance for bilateral ties.

Xi and Trump agreed to "have further exchange of visits at an appropriate time," Wang said.

During their working dinner, the two leaders had very "positive and constructive" discussions over trade and economic issues and agreed not to impose additional tariffs.

China will import more marketable products form the United States in efforts to gradually ease imbalances in the two-way trade, said Wang.

The two sides also agreed to open market to each other, said Wang, adding that China will, in the process of its further opening-up, work to gradually resolve the legitimate U.S. concerns.

Working teams on both sides will follow the guidance of the principled consensus reached between the two leaders, and step up negotiations toward the removal of all additional tariffs so as to reach a mutually-beneficial agreement at an early date.

The important consensus reached at the meeting not only effectively stopped further escalation of trade tensions, but also opened up new prospects for win-win cooperation between the two countries, said Wang.

Results achieved at the meeting will not only benefit the two countries and the two peoples, but also be conducive to the global economy's stable growth, he said.

The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation on law enforcement and combating illicit drugs, including the synthetic drug fentanyl, said Wang, adding that China's measures to tackle the abuse of fentanyl-like substances have won positive comments from across the globe and China has decided to list all fentanyl-like substances and their precursors as controlled substances.

During the meeting, the Chinese side also reiterated its stance on the Taiwan issue and the U.S. side said it will continue to adhere to the one-China policy.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula issue. China supports a second meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and hopes that Washington and Pyongyang could meet each other half way, accommodate each other's reasonable concerns and push forward on parallel the denuclearization process and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the peninsula, said Wang.

Washington appreciates Beijing's positive role in this regard and hopes to maintain communication and coordination with China, said the Chinese official.