China said on Thursday that it hopes to implement reciprocal tariff reductions with the United States "at an early date," raising expectations that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could announce progress when they meet in Washington on Sept. 24.
US, China Target $30 Billion Tariff Cuts
Commerce Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling said negotiators are working to cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods from each side, according to an Associated Press report. The talks focus on "nonsensitive" products and form part of negotiations around the new U.S.-China Board of Trade.
"Leaders’ diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Thursday.
The two governments created that board, along with a Board of Investment, during Trump’s May visit to Beijing. The White House said the trade body would manage commerce in nonsensitive goods. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said Washington wanted to identify products that could benefit from tariff changes while preserving restrictions tied to economic and national security.
