Washington and Beijing held candid talks on US-China trade relations on Friday, less than two weeks before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which could see the two countries' presidents meet.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a phone call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss China's economic and trade commitments made over the past year.
The US Treasury Department said the American side stressed the importance of China fully and immediately fulfilling its commitments, while expressing concern over recent Chinese measures without disclosing further details.
For his part, He Lifeng voiced serious concerns over the restrictive economic and trade measures recently imposed by the United States, according to a report published online by China's Ministry of Commerce.
The report described the talks as candid, in-depth and constructive, without specifying the nature of the measures referred to by the Chinese vice premier.
Bessent stressed that continued progress depends on achieving tangible results.
The department said the United States would closely monitor China's compliance with the understandings reached.
The talks come less than two weeks before the APEC summit in China, which the US president is expected to attend and which could provide an opportunity for him to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Xi and Trump agreed to a trade truce last year during a meeting in South Korea, following a fierce tariff dispute in which duties rose to more than 100% in some cases.
Under the agreement, China agreed to:
Purchase larger quantities of US soybeans and other agricultural products.
Suspend restrictions on rare earth minerals for one year.
The truce was originally due to expire in November but was extended until January 10 during Xi's visit to the United States in September.
During their latest phone call, the two sides agreed to manage their differences appropriately and strengthen stability in bilateral trade relations, according to a statement by China's Ministry of Commerce.
In a separate statement, China strongly condemned the new US sanctions imposed on Cuba, accusing Washington of seeking to undermine Beijing's cooperation with Havana.
The statement said the latest US sanctions constituted an escalation against China and contradicted the agreement reached by the Chinese and US presidents.
- China's rare earth exports are considered one of the sensitive issues in bilateral trade relations, as these minerals play a crucial role in:
