By Yukun Zhang, Jing Xu and Lewis Jackson
Beijing (Reuters) – China asked that all the unilateral “unilateral” prices that were canceled Thursday, while signs emerged that the Trump administration could defuse its trade war with Beijing.
China also said that it had not organized commercial talks with Washington despite repeated comments from the US government suggesting that there was a commitment.
US President Donald Trump said on several occasions that the United States would have an agreement with China and said on Wednesday that there was a “direct contact” between the two countries. Trump, who calls his “reciprocal” prices, says that homework is aimed at correcting disloyal commercial imbalances with the United States
The United States is expected to remove all “unilateral tariff measures” against China “if it really wanted to” resolve the business issue, the Ministry of Commerce spokesman said on Thursday.
“The person who has attached the bell must detach it,” he told journalists at a regular press conference.
The Trump administration would examine the drop in prices on Chinese products imported from their current level from 145% to possibly between 50% and 65%, pending talks with Beijing, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the issue.
He also urged the United States to pay attention to the “rational voices” of the international community and national parties.
“China and the United States have not carried out consultations or negotiations on the prices, and even less have concluded an agreement,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, during a separate press briefing, calling for reports of this “false news” reports.
At home, China organized a round table on Wednesday to respond to the concerns of more than 80 companies and foreign rooms on the impact of American prices on their investments and their operations in China, according to a reading of the Ministry of Commerce.
“We hope that foreign companies … will transform crises into opportunities,” said the Minister of Commerce, Ling Ji, at the Round Table, promising to work on the solving the problems encountered by foreign companies.
In Washington DC, the governor of the Chinese central bank, Pan Gongsheng, said that China will firmly support the rules of free trade and the multilateral trade system, in the remarks made at a G20 meeting on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the Bank of the IMF world.
(Report by Yukun Zhang, Jing Xu and Lewis Jackson; writing by Liz Lee; edition by Christian Schmollinger and Sharon Singleton)
