Trade consultations between China and the United States, de-escalating a trade conflict, were “extremely difficult” due to the large differences between the two countries, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan has stated.
“During the last 90 days, the sides held three rounds of talks at the high level. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He has recently visited the United States for the talks as the head of a Chinese delegation. The process of consultations was extremely difficult and time-consuming. Due to the difference in state systems, culture and the stages of development the two countries are very different”, Zhong told reporters.
He added that Chinese and US working groups were continuing consultations as a lot of questions remained unresolved.
China and the United States have been engaged in a trade conflict since last June when Trump announced the United States would subject $50 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent tariffs in a bid to fix the US-Chinese trade deficit. Since then, the two countries have exchanged several rounds of trade tariffs.