Ministry of Commerce Clarifies “Three Essentials” in China-U.S. trade talks

On 2 June, the State Council Information Office released a white paper on Chinese government’s position in China-U.S. trade talks and held a press conference in Beijing. Officials from Ministry of Commerce and the State Council Information Office introduced and interpreted the white paper and answered questions from reporters.

As the U.S. increased the additional tariff on Chinese commodities worth USD200 billion to 25% from 10%, the China-U.S. trade talks suffered an extraordinary setback. Soon afterwards, the U.S. began to impose additional tariffs on Chinese commodities worth another USD300 billion. By abusing national security exception, the U.S. carried out import restrictions on some Chinese enterprises, which is considered as the reason for escalation of the trade friction. According to one official, three essentials for negotiation are mutual respect, meeting each other halfway as well as equity and mutual benefit.

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