The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to launch larger-scale trade negotiations with China next month. The administration also assessed that China has so far been faithfully implementing its trade agreement with the United States.
On the 8th (local time), President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, "We have maintained a good relationship with China recently," and added, "We are getting along very well with China, and China has maintained our trade agreement very fairly."
He continued, "So I hope we will have a great relationship," and expressed confidence by saying, "China is a big, strong, and powerful country, but we are stronger and have better military equipment."
President Trump also emphasized, "I have had a good relationship with President Xi Jinping, and we talk frequently."
Previously, the United States and China engaged in a trade war, imposing retaliatory tariffs on each other following President Trump's inauguration. However, during the first round of trade talks held in Geneva, Switzerland in May, both sides agreed to lower mutual tariff rates and declared a truce. Tensions rose again as both countries continued to impose export control measures. Maintaining an uneasy truce, the two sides reached another agreement at the second round of trade talks in London last month, deciding to lift some of China's export controls on rare earths to the U.S. and some U.S. export controls to China.
On this day, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview with CNBC, "China has promptly approved exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. as agreed," and assessed, "We are in a pretty good position right now." He went on to say, "We will begin larger trade talks between the world's two largest economies, China and the United States," and announced, "I, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer, will start these talks in early August."
Secretary Lutnick emphasized, "All of us will go together to meet our Chinese counterparts," and added, "I think it will take some time, but at least we are starting the process for a larger dialogue."
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