China and the United States stay committed to the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman said on Thursday.
He Yongqian, the spokeswoman, made the statement at a press conference in Beijing in response to a media query regarding the outcomes of the latest round of economic and trade consultations between China and the U.S., which were held in Paris from March 15 to 16.
"The two sides, guided by the important consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. heads of state, engaged in candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges and consultations, with discussions focused on issues of mutual concern such as tariff arrangements, promotion of two-way trade and investment, and maintenance of existing consultation consensus. The talks resulted in some new consensus and both sides agreed to continue consultations," said the spokeswoman.
"Both sides agreed to explore the establishment of a cooperation mechanism to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, continue to bring into good play the role of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences and expand pragmatic cooperation, to promote continuous and steady improvement of bilateral economic and trade relations," she said.
The Paris meeting marked the sixth round of economic and trade consultations between the world's two largest economies since May 2025, following previous talks in Geneva, London, Stockholm, Madrid and Kuala Lumpur.
The latest round of talks also came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump held a meeting in Busan, the Republic of Korea, last October, during which the two leaders reached important consensus on improving economic and trade relations between the two countries.
China, US committed to economic, trade consultations: spokeswoman
China, US committed to economic, trade consultations: spokeswoman
The United Nations (UN) is opposed to anything that "could constitute extrajudicial execution" and urged all relevant parties to avoid further escalation of the Middle East conflict, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a press conference in New York City on Wednesday.
Haq was responding to a media query about the killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, in Israeli attacks earlier this week.
The assassinations of Khatib and Iran's top security official Larijani were confirmed by the Iranian government on Wednesday and Tuesday, respectively.
Haq also briefed the press about Guterres' ongoing visit to Brussels, during which the Secretary-General will hold meetings with European Union (EU) leaders on UN-EU ties and global hotspot issues, such as the conflict in the Middle East and the Ukraine crisis.
"The Secretary-General arrived in Brussels earlier this morning for a series of meetings, including with European Union officials. He met earlier this afternoon with Maxime Prevot, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation of Belgium. The Secretary-General then began his meetings with European Union officials, starting with Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament. The Secretary-General and the president discussed the partnership between the United Nations and the European Union. They also discussed a number of crises around the world, including the situation in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine," said Haq.
"The Secretary-General will travel to the seat of the European Commission for discussions with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. And later, the Secretary-General will meet with Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, and also have a working dinner with Mr. Costa," he said.
On the killing of a string of senior Iranian officials, Haq expressed the UN's opposition to illegal military strikes and repeated its call for a de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
"First of all, as a point of principle, the United Nations is opposed to anything that could constitute extrajudicial execution, and that's true in all such cases, But beyond that, we do not believe that there is a military solution to this problem and we reiterate our call to Israel, to the United States, to Iran, and to any other parties to avoid any further escalation of this conflict," he said.
UN opposes 'extrajudicial execution', urges de-escalation of Middle East conflict: deputy spokesman
