The latest China-U.S. high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs in Geneva marks a significant step forward for international trade, director-general of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Sunday.
Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement that she was pleased with the positive outcome of the talks.
Amid current global tensions, such progress is important not only for the United States and China but also for the rest of the world, including the most vulnerable economies, she said.
In an earlier interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Okonjo-Iweala said that as the world is facing rising fragmentation and uncertainty, economies should keep sober and careful in decision making.
"It's been a challenging few years for world trade. We've seen protectionism on the rise, various measures being used by different countries. We need to be very careful that trade policy uncertainty and fragmentation do not impact the world in an adverse way. Let us not to rush to take action and counter action. So, let's keep steady. Let's keep everyone deliberate. Let's chill," she said.
Over the weekend, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, held a high-level meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva.
According to a joint statement released after the meeting, both China and the U.S. commit to remove 91 percent tariffs and suspend 24 percent tariffs for 90 days while retaining the remaining 10 percent tariffs. On this basis, the two sides will continue to negotiate on economic and trade relations.
WTO chief says China-US economic, trade meeting marks significant step forward
WTO chief says China-US economic, trade meeting marks significant step forward
WTO chief says China-US economic, trade meeting marks significant step forward
Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who is in China to attend the 2025 Summer Davos forum, in Beijing on Tuesday.
Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations 45 years ago, China-Ecuador relations have maintained a good development momentum, with political mutual trust consolidated, practical cooperation achieving fruitful results, and bilateral friendship deepened.
He said China stands ready to work with Ecuador to carry forward the traditional friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, promote the continuous deepening of the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership, and add more impetus to the modernization drive of both sides.
China is willing to foster greater synergy between development strategies with Ecuador, strengthen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, expand the scale of bilateral trade, and deepen cooperation on clean energy, infrastructure and finance, Li said.
Noting that China is glad to see more high-quality products from Ecuador exported to China, Li said China welcomes Ecuador to make good use of promotion platforms such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE), and called on both sides to enhance exchanges and cooperation in fields such as education, culture and youth, and facilitate personnel exchanges.
China stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with Ecuador in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, practice true multilateralism, and make positive contributions to maintaining world peace and development and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Li said.
Noting that China is Ecuador's second-largest trading partner, Noboa said the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides has been fruitful and has effectively enhanced the well-being of the Ecuadorian people.
Ecuador is willing to have dialogues in various fields with China, deepen the friendship between the two countries, promote cooperation on trade, finance, agriculture, clean energy, infrastructure, and education, enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and jointly address common challenges, Noboa said.
Chinese premier meets Ecuadorian president in Beijing
