China and the United States should be willing to make compromises in trade talks and not insist only on what each side wants, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Monday.
Discussions between the Chinese and US trade teams are underway, Wang told a media briefing, without disclosing how or where the talks were taking place.
China and the United States last week said they were reviving talks ahead of this week’s meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, cheering financial markets hoping for a de-escalation in a trade war that is damaging the global economy.
Talks to reach a broad trade deal broke down last month after US officials accused China of backing away from previously agreed commitments.
Xi will meet Trump at the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka at the end of the week.
Both the Chinese and US teams are making preparations for the Xi-Trump meeting, said China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun at the briefing.
China has vowed to not give in on issues of principle nor under US pressure.
Trump has threatened to put tariffs on another $325 billion of goods, covering nearly all the remaining Chinese imports into the United States, including consumer products such as cellphones, computers and clothing.
The policy room for countries to cope with an economic slowdown is limited, said deputy governor of China’s central bank Chen Yulu, who was also present at the briefing.
Tariffs imposed by certain countries are a threat to the world economy, Wang said.
The Trump administration has accused China of failing to protect intellectual property rights, forced technology transfers and of failing to provide a level playing field for US companies.
China has repeatedly promised to open its market wider to foreign investors and provide them with better services and treatment. China has also denied accusations of failing to protect intellectual property rights or of forcing foreign companies to transfer technology.
