Chinese vice premier holds video call with U.S. treasury secretary, trade representative

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, held a video call on Friday with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The two sides had an in-depth and constructive exchange on implementing the important consensus reached between the heads of state of China and the United States during their meeting in Busan, the Republic of Korea, and during their phone conversation on Nov. 24. They also discussed practical cooperation for the next stage and properly addressing mutual concerns in the economic and trade fields.

Both sides positively evaluated the implementation of the outcomes of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. They expressed their commitment to continue leveraging the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, to steadily expand the list of cooperation and reduce the list of issues, and to promote the sustained and stable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

Chinese vice premier holds video call with U.S. treasury secretary, trade representative

Chinese vice premier holds video call with U.S. treasury secretary, trade representative

The gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated from an intraday high to close flat at 4,234 U.S. dollars per ounce on Friday, as investors were grappling with uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's potential interest rate cuts next year.

Gold briefly surged more than 1 percent on the day at one point in the trading session boosted by investor optimism over the Fed's potential rate cut.

The gain then narrowed due to uncertainty over the pace of the Fed's rate cuts next year, coupled with a rise in the U.S. dollar index during the late trading session and profit-taking by investors.

Int'l gold price closes flat amid uncertain US Fed rate cut prospects