US, China Launch Trade Council Talks on Tariffs, Agriculture

(MENAFN) The United States and China held their first meeting of a bilateral Trade Council through a video conference, addressing tariffs, agricultural commerce and reciprocal reductions in trade duties, Beijing said Saturday.

The discussions took place Friday under the two countries' economic and trade consultation framework, according to China's Commerce Ministry.

Both sides conducted "frank, in-depth, and constructive" exchanges on carrying out commitments made during earlier trade negotiations, guided by the understanding reached between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ministry said.

The agenda included tariff policies, a reciprocal duty reduction arrangement referred to as "30 billion for 30 billion," agricultural trade and other matters of shared interest.

In a separate announcement, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said on the US social media platform X that the Trump administration was setting up a US-China board of trade to support commercial exchanges involving non-sensitive goods.

The initiative is intended to create opportunities for American farmers, ranchers, fishermen, small enterprises, manufacturers and workers.

Washington emphasized that significant tariffs would remain in force to address what it considers China's unfair trade practices and safeguard US economic interests.

However, the US administration said efforts to establish more balanced trade in selected industries could contribute to greater stability in economic relations between the two countries.

Beijing said the two governments had agreed to continue dialogue, work through unresolved trade disputes and broaden cooperation while managing their differences.

The meeting comes as the world's two largest economies seek to contain trade disputes while maintaining channels for economic cooperation.

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