At a news briefing regarding G20 summit, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said talks are underway between China and US teams regarding trade negotiations. He gave no details on the highly anticipated meeting between Xi and Trump ahead. Though, he reiterated China’s stance on mutual respect and urged US to make concessions for compromises.
Wang said, “mutual respect means each side must respect the other’s sovereignty”, apparently referring US demand for China to implement the trade agreement with domestic laws. Wang also said “equality and mutual benefit means the consultations have to happen on an equal basis, the agreement to be reached has to be beneficial for both sides… Meeting each other half way means both sides have to compromise and make concessions, not just one side.”
Wang also noted Xi has asked Trump to treat Chinese companies fairly during last week’s telephone conversation. He added “we hope that the U.S. can remove certain unilateral measures inappropriately taken against Chinese companies, in the spirit of free trade and the World Trade Organization.”
