China and the United States have agreed to continue applying “all” of their existing trade agreements and to establish councils for trade and investment, said the Chinese foreign minister in a statement on Friday, following the meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Beijing.
“The delegations of both countries achieved generally positive results, including the continuation of the application of all agreements reached during previous consultations, (and) they decided to establish a council for trade and another for investment,” said Wang Yi, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After a two-day summit with his Chinese counterpart, Donald Trump left China on Friday after claiming “fantastic” trade agreements with Beijing, but without indicating any breakthrough on global issues such as the war with Iran.
Xi Jinping, invited by Donald Trump, will in turn visit the United States in the fall of this year,” said the Chinese foreign minister, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The two countries also agreed to “address each other’s concerns regarding access to agricultural markets, and to promote two-way trade growth through reciprocal reductions in tariffs,” Wang Yi added.
Donald Trump had brought along a significant delegation of American business leaders. Washington hoped to leave with a number of agreements, for example in the field of agriculture, or promises of Chinese investments in the United States.
No similar agreement was announced or detailed several hours after the departure of the American president.
The summit aimed first to contain multiple tensions. Experts anticipated that it would not produce significant progress on major strategic disputes and that Donald Trump, embroiled in the crisis in the Middle East, facing inflation in the United States and heading into risky midterm elections, would appreciate returning with concrete economic commitments.
AFP
