China-US negotiators speak on phone

Vice-Premier Liu He spoke by phone with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday evening at the request of the US, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

China strongly opposed US plans for an additional 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods originally scheduled to start from Sept 1.

The two parties agreed to speak again via phone within two weeks, the ministry said.

Liu is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese delegation in the China-US comprehensive economic dialogue.

Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, Governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang, and Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, were on the call.

Wang Yiming, vice-president of the State Council's Development Research Center, said the US tariffs targeting Chinese imports will not only harm the interests of US consumers, but also drag down the US economy.

In addition, tariffs will seriously dampen the confidence of the international market and create new uncertainties to the world economy, Wang said at a seminar in Beijing.