US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday agreed to restart fractious US-China trade negotiations as both countries agreed not to slap new tariffs on its exports, according to Chinese state media.
According to reports, the two countries will restart the talks ‘on the basis of equality and mutual respect’ after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka.
Xi opened the meeting by noting they sat not far from the spot where 48 years earlier Chinese and American athletes faced off in table tennis, opening the door to “ping-pong diplomacy” that eventually led to the restoration of normal diplomatic relations.
“China and the United States can both win through cooperation and both lose through fighting,” Xi told Trump.
“Recently, I have maintained close contact with the President through telephone and written correspondence,” Xi said at the start, adding he would like to exchange views with Trump to guide relations to the next step.
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Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said trade negotiations with China were ‘back on track’ after ‘excellent’ talks with his Chinese counterpart.
“We had a very good meeting with President Xi of China,” Trump said after the talks. “I would say excellent.”
“We are right back on track,” he added without confirming any details of any agreement.
We want “to promote China-US relations based on coordination, cooperation and stability”, Xi said.
China and the United States have hit each other with steep tariffs on more than $360 billion in bilateral trade, rattling financial markets and business confidence.