Gao told reporters at a weekly press conference that China’s position and goal for the China-US trade negotiations has never changed, according to CNBC.
“Both sides’ ultimate goal for the negotiations is to end the trade war, cancel all additional tariffs,” he said. “This is good for China, good for the US and good for the world.”
The latest round of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies ended late last week in Washington, with the US saying after the meeting that it would suspend a tariff increase on Chinese goods that was supposed to take effect on Tuesday this week.
US President Donald Trump said China agreed to a “very substantial phase one deal” that will be written over the next three weeks, adding that the deal would address intellectual property and financial services concerns, with China also expected to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion in US agricultural products – an amount yet to be confirmed by Beijing. The Ministry of Commerce spokesman said on Thursday that Chinese companies would increase their purchases of US agricultural products according to Chinese market needs and market-based principles.
Gao also did not confirm when a phase one agreement would be signed or whether the leaders of both countries planned to meet, yet said that teams from both sides remain in communication.
“We hope both sides can continue to work together to advance the negotiations and, as soon as possible, reach a phased agreement and make new progress on canceling tariffs,” Gao said.