Wang Yi: Meet China 'halfway' on trade issues

China hopes the United States chooses "cooperation and mutual benefit" instead of "confrontation and mutual loss" in addressing trade issues, but it is prepared to respond to any US measures.

The remarks were made by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Beijing on Thursday, a day before the Trump administration is set to announce a final list of Chinese imports on which it threatens to impose hefty tariffs.

Wang said a basic consensus reached by the two countries during the recent multiple rounds of talks was that both sides agreed to use "constructive means" to handle disagreements.

"We hope the US side can meet China halfway and earnestly implement this important consensus, and promote the appropriate resolution of the relevant issue," he said.

Wang said there were two choices when it came to the China-US trade issue.

"The first choice is cooperation and mutual benefit. The other choice is confrontation and mutual loss. China has chosen the first," Wang said. "We hope the US side can also make the same wise choice. Of course, we have also made preparations to respond to the second kind of choice."

Pompeo, who was visiting Beijing for the first time as top US diplomat, said at a news conference on Thursday that he had "good and constructive" discussions with the Chinese on trade deficit, and stressed "how important it is for President Trump to rectify that situation", according to a release by the US State Department.

Wang said China hopes the US does not adopt unilateral, "unconstructive" moves any more, or create new obstacles for the next round of talks to be held by the two sides.

In addition to appealing to Congress, US farm groups made a big push on Thursday on social media by creating a hashtag #TradeNotTariffs, sharing with the public what tariffs could mean for their livelihoods – and how severe that outlook could be, according to a news release posted on the American Soybean Association's website.

"Tariffs lead to uncertainty across the country during an already downturned farm economy. Now is the time for #TradeNotTariffs," the ASA said on its Twitter account on Thursday.

Dennis Slater, president of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, said, "On behalf of the 1.3 million equipment manufacturing workers our industry represents, we urge the Trump Administration to refrain from putting in place economically damaging tariffs," according to the release.

The latest round of high-level China-US trade talks was held in Beijing June 2-3, headed by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

They had "good communication" in various areas such as agriculture and energy, and made "positive and concrete" progress while relevant details are yet to be confirmed by both sides, according to a statement issued after the negotiations.

The statement noted that to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and the requirements of high-quality economic development, China is willing to increase imports from other countries, including the US, which will benefit people of both countries and the rest of the world, according to a Xinhua report.

However, "all economic and trade outcomes of the talks will not take effect if the US side imposes any trade sanctions including raising tariffs", the statement noted.

Agricultural commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade settled lower for the second consecutive session on Thursday, as investors mulled the renewed trade tensions between China and the US, Xinhua reported.