Q: On May 14, the heads of state of China and the United States held a meeting and announced that the economic and trade teams of the two countries had reached generally balanced and positive outcomes. Could MOFCOM share more details on the outcomes of the economic and trade consultations?

A: The heads of state of China and the United States held talks in Beijing to discuss economic and trade issues in depth, further charting the course and providing strategic guidance for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations. President Xi Jinping said that China-U.S. economic and trade ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, and that the economic and trade teams of the two countries have produced generally balanced and positive outcomes. This is good news for the people of the two countries and the world. The two sides should jointly sustain the good momentum that we have worked hard to create.

On May 13, the economic and trade teams of China and the U.S. held consultations in the Republic of Korea to lay the economic and trade groundwork for the heads-of-state meeting. During the consultations, guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and adhering to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, the two sides had candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges on resolving their respective economic and trade concerns and further expanding pragmatic cooperation. Thereafter, the two sides held intensive consultations on the specifics of the outcomes and reached a positive consensus.

At present, the preliminary outcomes reached by the two sides in the economic and trade field are mainly as follows:

First, the two sides will continue to implement the outcomes of previous consultations and have formed a positive consensus on relevant tariff arrangements.

Second, the two sides agreed to establish a board of trade and a board of investment to discuss their respective concerns in the areas of trade and investment. Through the board of trade, the two sides will discuss issues such as tariff reductions on specific products and have agreed in principle to reduce tariffs on their respective products of concern on an equivalent scale.

Third, the two sides will resolve or make substantive progress toward resolving non-tariff barriers and market access issues involving some agricultural products. The U.S. side will actively work to resolve China’s long-standing concerns regarding the automatic detention of dairy and aquatic products, the export of Penjing plants in growing media to the U.S., and the recognition of Shandong as free of highly pathogenic avian influenza. China, for its part, will actively advance solutions to U.S. concerns regarding beef facility registration and poultry exports from certain U.S. states to China.

Fourth, the two sides agreed to promote two-way trade, including in agricultural products, through arrangements such as mutual tariff reductions for a range of products.

Fifth, the two countries reached arrangements concerning China's purchase of aircraft from the U.S., as well as U.S. guarantees for the supply of aircraft engines and related parts to China. The two sides agreed to continue advancing cooperation in relevant areas.

The positive outcomes of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultations demonstrate that, by upholding the spirit of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, the two sides are able to find solutions to problems through dialogue and cooperation. At present, the two sides are still in consultation over details related to the outcomes. The economic and trade teams of the two countries will work to lock down the outcomes at an early date and jointly ensure implementation in line with the consensus reached by the two heads of state, in a bid to inject greater certainty and stability into subsequent China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation and the world economy. (Released on May 16)