China, US negotiators discuss ways to implement Xi-Trump agreement

Beijing, July 10 (IANS) The heads of the negotiating teams of China and the US have spoken on how to implement the consensus reached by the Presidents of the two countries, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin via phone on Tuesday evening, the ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website.

The phone call was aimed at implementing consensus reached by the US and Chinese Presidents, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan last month, according to the ministry, reported Efe news.

Commerce Minister Zhong Shan also joined the call, the statement said.

A US official confirmed the call and said the continued negotiations were aimed at resolving the outstanding trade disputes between the two countries.

Both sides will continue these talks as appropriate, the US official said.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the talks "went well" and were "constructive," adding that a face-to-face meeting would make "good sense."

In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump said: "Trade deals being negotiated or being set up for negotiation. We have been treated very unfairly (to put it mildly) by other countries for many years, but that is changing!" in a veiled reference to the US' trade dispute with China, among other nations.

On June 29, Trump and Xi agreed to a new truce in the trade conflict, after which Washington halted the imposition of new tariffs on Beijing and agreed to allow US companies to sell products to Chinese tech giant Huawei.

The Commerce Ministry urged Washington last week to withdraw additional tariffs imposed on Chinese products to enable an agreement seeking an end to their trade dispute.