The China-U.S. high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs has made substantial progress and reached important consensus between the two sides, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday.
He described the talks as "candid, in-depth and constructive" while speaking to reporters following the conclusion of a weekend of closed-door discussions in Geneva.
"Friends from the press, good evening. On May 10 and 11, as the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. trade and economic affairs, I held a high-level meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer," He said.
"The two sides held in-depth exchanges on trade and economic issues of their respective concern. The atmosphere of the meeting was candid, in-depth and constructive. The meeting achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus," he added.
The senior Chinese official said that China and the United States have also agreed to establish an economic and trade consultation mechanism, adding that a joint statement reached during the talks will be released on Monday.
"The two sides agreed on establishing a consultation mechanism for trade and economic issues, making it clear that the lead persons on both side will conduct further consultations on trade and economic issues of their respective concerns. The two sides will finalize relevant details as soon as possible and issue a joint statement reached during the talks on May 12," He said.
He also expressed thanks for hosting the meeting and said the "professionalism and diligence" of US colleagues was "impressive".
"I would like to take this opportunity to give our special thanks to the Swiss government, our host this time, for their strong support on the China-U.S. high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs and warm hospitality. At the same time, our American colleagues' professionalism and diligence were also impressive," He said.
"Over the past three months or so, the global trade war initiated by the United States has caught global attention. China's position towards this trade war has been clear and consistent. And that is, China doesn't want to fight a trade war because trade wars produce no winners. But if the United States insists on imposing this war upon us, China will not be afraid, and will fight to the end to safeguard its own interests," He said.
"Under the current circumstance, this meeting has caught high attention from the international community. Thanks to the concerted efforts from both sides, it has been productive and is an important step for the two sides to properly resolve their differences through equal-footed dialogue. This meeting has laid the foundation and created the conditions for further bridging differences and deepening cooperation," he added.
He highlighted the importance of trade and economic relations between the world's two largest economies.
"Today's world is undergoing changes unseen in a century. China-U.S. trade and economic relations are not only of great importance to the two countries, but also of major impact on global economic stability and development," he said.
Noting that the China-U.S. economic and trade ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, he said China is ready to work with the U.S. side to manage differences, extend the list of cooperation, and make the pie of cooperation bigger.
"The nature of the China-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win. It is normal that there will be some differences and frictions between the two sides' cooperation. The key is to follow the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, and find ways to properly resolve issues through equal-footed dialogue and consultation so as to foster a stable, sound, and sustainable China-U.S. trade and economic relationship," He said.
"We are ready to work together with the U.S. side to actively implement the important consensus reached by our heads of states on January 17 in their phone call. With a pragmatic approach to problem-solving, we are willing to engage in candid dialogue and equal-footed consultation, manage our differences, tap into the potential for cooperation, extend the list of collaborative outcomes, and make the pie of mutual benefits bigger, so as to promote new development in China-U.S. trade and economic relations and inject more certainty and stability into the world economy," he added.
Chinese vice premier hails substantial progress in trade talks with US
