China Demands US Cancel Tariffs To End Trade War

China has urged the United States to scrap all tariffs slapped in the context of the US-China trade war so that the two countries can proceed to a final agreement on trade.

This was stated by a spokesman in China’s Ministry of Commerce Gao Feng. He said China’s position, principle or goals on the China-U.S. trade negotiations have never changed.

The comments assume significance in the backdrop of an interim trade deal is being talked about.

In a press conference, Gao said: “Both sides’ ultimate goal for the negotiations is to end the trade war, cancel all additional tariffs. This is good for China, good for the U.S and good for the world.”

The CNBC report on China news notes that the U.S and China trade war raging for more than a year had seen each country slapping tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods from the other.

Thaw in Washington talks

The latest round of U.S china trade talks in Washington, D.C last week saw some thaw in positions.

After the meeting, the U.S. said it would not go proceed with a tariff increase on Chinese goods that would have taken effect from Tuesday this week.

According to Trump news, China has agreed on a “very substantial phase one deal” that could be concluded in the next three weeks.

The interim deal, it was claimed, would address concerns on U.S. China trade relating to intellectual property and financial services.

President Trump also expects China would purchase U.S. agricultural products worth $40 billion to $50 billion.

No conformation on farm products purchase

However, Gao did not confirm any specific amount and just mentioned the matter in passing saying Chinese companies would try to increase the purchase of U.S. agricultural products based on the needs and market-norms in China.

There was no word from Gao on signing a Phase one agreement between the president of China, Xi Jin Ping, and President Trump.

But he said teams from both sides are in communication.

“We hope both sides can continue to work together to advance the negotiations and, as soon as possible, reach a phased agreement and make new progress on canceling tariffs,” Gao said.

China’s electronics industry worst hit by trade war

Meanwhile, the U.S trade war is taking a toll on China’s electronics exports and businessmen are desperately seeking an end to it.

According to reports, the Trump-China tariff has placed a heavy strain on China’s electronics sector. The latest figures show that the escalated trade war has pulled down China’s electronics exports.

From January to August this year, exports and imports of hi-tech products declined by 2.1 and 6.9 percent respectively.

Exports of mobile phones and components fell 15.1 percent, while exports of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels crashed 6.6 percent, per China Information Technology Industry Federation.

Despite the prospects of the U.S. and China signing an interim trade deal at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile in November, expectations are muted as it will only delay some tariffs and existing ones will remain.