A Chinese commerce official said on Thursday that the economic and trade teams of China and the United States are maintaining close communication on trade arrangements.
Meng Huating, director-general of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce, made the remarks at a press conference when responding to a question about the progress in establishing a board of trade and a board of investment between China and the United States.
"The economic and trade teams of China and the United States are maintaining close communication on specific arrangements regarding the structure, functions and operating model of a board of trade. The two sides are also exploring a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions covering 30 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of products from each side," she said.
"China is soliciting input on the proposed tariff reduction arrangements from a broad range of stakeholders, including domestic enterprises, business associations, local governments and business associations representing U.S.-funded enterprises. The United States is also soliciting public comments on the board of trade and the reciprocal tariff reduction arrangements. The two sides will maintain close communication, finalize tariff reduction arrangements for specific products as soon as possible and work toward their implementation to further expand bilateral trade," she continued.
China, US maintain close communication on tariff reduction arrangements
Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held talks with Tomio Okamura, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, in Beijing on Thursday.
Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Czech strategic partnership, Zhao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China stands ready to work with the Czech side to carry forward traditional friendship, enhance mutual understanding and trust, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and promote the sound and steady growth of bilateral relations.
Zhao called on both sides to consolidate the political foundation of their ties, sustain the momentum of improvement in bilateral relations, and resume and step up exchanges and interactions at all levels and across all fields.
Both sides should further tap cooperation potential, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the economic joint committee between China and Czech and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, explore ways to strengthen cooperation in new energy, electric vehicles and other fields, and support enterprises of the two countries in expanding investment cooperation, Zhao added.
The NPC is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, carry out mutual learning and exchanges on legislative supervision, economic development, improvement of people's livelihood, formulate, revise and ratify legal documents conducive to bilateral cooperation, and maintain close communication and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Zhao said.
Zhao also said China is willing to work with all countries, including the Czech Republic, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promote the establishment of a fair and equitable global governance system for AI.
Okamura said the Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy, adding that it hopes to strengthen tourism cooperation with China and welcome more Chinese tourists to visit the Czech Republic, expand cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, cultural relic exhibitions, and direct flights, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's NPC and enhance the friendship between the two peoples, Okamura added.
China's top legislator holds talks with speaker of Czech Chamber of Deputies
