Washington/Beijing, June 19 (UNI) The United States and China will have another round of trade talks ahead of a meeting between their presidents at the G20 summit in Japan next week.
US President Donald Trump said that he had a "very good" talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that heir teams would start talks before they met in Osaka during the G20 summit.
"Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting," Trump said on Twitter.
The Chinese president said he was prepared to meet with Mr Trump at the G20 meeting next week.
Xi stressed the two sides should solve their problems through dialogue on an equal footing, with the key being to accomodate each other's legitimate concerns, adding that China hopes the US side can treat Chinese firms in a fair manner, Xinhua news agency reported.
Reiterating that both countries gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Xi said the two sides should push the relationship forward on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.
The Trump-Xi telephone talk came after both sides raised tariffs against each other's goods. Many US companies have cautioned Trump against a damaging trade war that will hurt their business and consumers.
Attending the first of a series of public hearings, held by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), on proposed additional tariffs of up to 25 percent on 300 billion dollars in goods from China, they voiced their frustration over and opposition to the new round of tariffs, sharing stories on how Washington's trade protectionism would backfire.
The companies made clear that they don't want tariff hikes on Chinese imports critical to their business operations and jobs, and that it is difficult for them to move production out of China or find alternative sources, while warning that US companies, industries, and eventually families and consumers would pay the price.
UNI SRJ