(Bloomberg) — China cheered a new framework to defuse trade tensions with the US after two days of intense negotiation, calling on both countries to adhere to the agreement and maintain dialogue to stabilize ties.
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“As a next step, the two sides should follow the important consensus and requirements reached by the two heads of state on the phone call, further play a good role in the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism,” Vice Premier He Lifeng said, according to a Wednesday statement published by state broadcaster China Central Television.
The two sides should “show the spirit of good faith in abiding by their commitments and jointly safeguard the hard-won results of the dialogue,” he added. The statement offered no details on the specifics of the framework.
The agreement comes after two days of high-stakes trade talks in London that concluded Tuesday night. Both sides said they’d agreed on a framework for implementing the Geneva deal that would revive the flow of sensitive goods between the countries.
Despite reaching a truce that suspended drastic tariffs last month, the world’s two largest economies later accused each other of violating that accord. US officials said China was stalling exports of rare earth magnets crucial for auto and defense sectors, while Beijing protested Washington’s move to impose new curbs on chip design software, jet engine parts and student visas.
The latest statement represents a step toward de-escalating a tariff war that had led to a slump in bilateral trade. However, it made no reference to rare earth magnets or US export controls, which had both been a focal point of the talks and main source of tension going into negotiations.
The US and Chinese delegations will take that proposal back to their respective leaders, China’s trade envoy Li Chenggang told reporters after the talks concluded.
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