Senior Chinese Diplomat Says US, China Must Resolve Trade Disputes Through Talks

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – China and the United States should work on a way to settle their disagreements through equal and mutually favorable negotiations, Yang Jiechi, the member of the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, said amid intensifying trade spat between the two states.

"US-Chinese trade relations are mutually beneficial. Both sides should find a suitable solution through equal and mutually favorable dialogue," Yang said as quoted in a statement, published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website after the official’s meeting with US National Security Adviser John Bolton.

During the talks, the two officials discussed bilateral ties. Bolton, in its turn, said that US President Donald Trump was looking forward to meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 session in Argentina.

Last Friday, Trump said that trade negotiations between the United States and China were going well and the two sides were getting closer to reaching a trade deal.

China and the United States are currently engaged in a major trade spat which followed the announcement of introduction of steel and aluminum import duties by Trump in March.

READ MORE: China Slashes Tariffs on Imported Goods as US Ramps Up Trade War — Scholars

The tensions further heightened in late May when Washington announced that $50 billion worth of Chinese goods would be subject to 25 percent tariffs. Since then, the two countries have exchanged several rounds of trade duties against each other.