Following the inaugural meeting of the China-US trade council on Friday, business groups and analysts on both sides of the Pacific are keenly awaiting the implementation of earlier trade agreements, while expressing hope that continued dialogue will yield further deliverables for the world's two largest economies.
A more stable and predictable China-United States trade relationship would inject much-needed certainty into international trade and investment, making a greater contribution to global economic recovery and growth, they added.
At the council's first meeting, held via video link on Friday under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, the two sides had "candid, in-depth and constructive" exchanges on tariffs, the reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement and agricultural trade, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday.
In a post on X after the meeting, the Office of the US Trade Representative said the administration of US President Donald Trump looked forward to continued engagement with China to "establish fair and balanced trade between the two largest economies in the world".
The trade council was one of the main outcomes of China-US economic and trade consultations in May. Under the council's framework, the two sides agreed in September to cut tariffs on about $30 billion worth of each other's goods, according to the ministry.
"Business communities in both countries have high expectations for the '30-for-30' reciprocal tariff reduction framework, which will help stabilize and expand bilateral trade," He Yadong, a spokesman for the ministry, said at a news conference on Thursday.
Tariffs continue to "raise costs, boost inflation, and depress sales, exports and profits", the US-China Business Council said in its annual member survey released in June. The survey found that 72 percent of respondents were affected by tariffs on bilateral trade, up 4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Dai Mingfeng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that implementing the agreed tariff cuts would help ease the cost pressures facing businesses and bring tangible benefits to consumers in both countries.
"Early and smooth implementation would also help build mutual trust and set a positive precedent for further consultations," Dai said.
The ministry spokesman also said the two sides are in close communication on implementing the arrangement, urging Washington to work with Beijing to bring it into effect as soon as possible and create more favorable conditions for agricultural trade.
"Agriculture has long been one of the most tangible and mutually beneficial dimensions of the US-China economic relationship," said Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
Carlos Salinas, executive director for East Asia at the US Soybean Export Council, said that he was very pleased with the progress in US-China soybean trade, and the atmosphere is much better now than at the same time last year.
Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities, said the two sides could build on the initial $30 billion preferential tariff arrangement by continuing discussions through the council on extending tariff reductions to a wider range of nonsensitive goods.
US companies, meanwhile, see scope for greater cooperation with China. US audio technology company Harman International sees China as both a major market and an export hub, said Jeffery Fay, a senior vice-president. The company plans to draw on China's engineering expertise to develop products for global markets.
"China-US is one of our strongest trade lanes," said Matt Castle, vice-president of global forwarding products and services at US logistics company C.H. Robinson.
Contact the writers at zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn
