China says US trade truce extension creates space to advance talks

China said on Monday a two-month extension of a trade ‌truce with the United States would provide room for both sides to evaluate the implementation of their arrangement to resolve economic and trade issues, while considering how to advance on those fronts.

In confirming the extension through to January 10, China's commerce ministry said it also provides a "relatively stable and predictable policy environment" for cooperation among companies and continued active discussions.

The extension was one of the key takeaways from the second summit this year between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, hosted in Washington last week.

Among the first steps under a ⁠trade council that both sides have agreed to form, is to discuss a reciprocal tariff cut on $30 billion of products, aimed at maintaining stable bilateral economic and trade relations.

That would also create better conditions for the export of related Chinese products to the United States, the ministry said in its statement.

The economic and trade teams from both sides will hold regular talks focusing on potential investment opportunities and barriers, enhancing policy transparency and predictability, and responding to reasonable concerns from enterprises, it said.

A list released by the White House showed China was planning to trim tariffs on a variety of U.S. agricultural products and other categories including medical equipment, raw materials and food items.

Reuters