The China-US trade council held its first formal meeting on Friday (13 November). The two countries’ leaders agreed to establish the mechanism at their summit in Beijing in May this year.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative said in a post on social media platform X on Friday: “Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, together with the Treasury Department, held the first formal meeting of the US-China trade council with the Chinese side. The Trump administration looks forward to continued engagement with China to advance a fair and balanced trading relationship between the world’s two largest economies.”
According to Xinhua, China and the US held the meeting by video conference that day. Guided by the key consensus reached at their leaders’ summit and focused on implementing the outcomes of earlier economic and trade talks, the two sides held candid, in-depth and constructive discussions on tariffs, reciprocal tariff reductions covering US$30 billion worth of goods on each side, agricultural trade and other issues of concern to each side.
The report said the two sides would continue to strengthen communication through the trade council, work to address each other’s economic and trade concerns, expand areas of cooperation and narrow their differences, helping to build a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.
China and the US launched the mechanism in September, each drawing up a list of non-sensitive goods worth up to US$30 billion (S$38.6 billion) that could qualify for tariff reductions. According to the South China Morning Post, the US list covers consumer goods such as microwave ovens, electric irons, Christmas decorations and toys, while China’s list focuses on agricultural products including corn, sorghum, dairy products, beef and vegetables.
Earlier, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, China’s lead representative on China-US economic and trade affairs, held a video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last Friday (6 November), expressing serious concerns over recent US trade restrictions on China. Bessent and Greer stressed the importance of China implementing the trade agreement reached by the two countries’ leaders in Busan, South Korea, in October last year.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said a day before the video call that China remained open to expanding imports of US agricultural products, provided that reciprocal tariff concessions under the trade council framework, covering US$30 billion worth of goods on each side, were implemented.
