Chinese President Xi Jinping said even though Beijing wanted to resolve problems with the United States through talks, he also called on the Trump administration to respect China's decisions on development and their own national interests on Thursday, according to Channel NewsAsia.
China and the U.S. have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war amounting with tariffs amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars each, but President Donald Trump has threatened to place tariffs on the remaining $500 billion in exports China sends to the U.S. if the two cannot resolve their disputes by the end of the year.
The Trump administration also accused China of interfering in U.S. politics, which Beijing denied, along with several other contentious issues, including the disputed territories in the South China Sea, the self-ruled island of Taiwan, and the denuclearization efforts in North Korea.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 summit in Argentina at the end of November to host high-stakes talk to help end the ongoing trade war.
While meeting former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing, Xi said he would have a "deep exchange of views" with Trump later this month, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Xi also said Beijing and Washington should correctly view each other's strategic intentions and China wanted to resolve the trade disputes with the upcoming talks.
The Chinese president also said attention should be paid to the recent "increase in negative voices related to China in the United States."
China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi said Xi and Trump reached an important consensus on the stable development of bilateral ties during a phone call last week, but their upcoming G20 summit would also be of "great significance" in resolving their bilateral problems.
"That will be of great significance for both sides to manage differences effectively and resolve issues in a practical way," Wang told reporters.
He also said Beijing was prepared to work with the U.S. to remove those disruptions and be fully prepared for the upcoming meeting.
"We believe that meeting will help chart the course for China-US relations," he said, noting how it was important for both sides to remain "level-headed" during the high-level talks.
Chinese media also reported Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe were scheduled to hold a security and diplomatic meeting with their U.S. counterparts in Washington on Friday.
The Trump administration's national security adviser John Bolton would meet the two before those talks to help "properly manage differences and carefully prepare to ensure positive results in the Argentina meeting", according to China's Foreign Ministry.
"China is committed to working with the US to achieve a no-confrontational, conflict-free, mutually respectful co-operation in which both sides win," added Yang.
China also reported exports and imports for October that went above the forecasts, according to the country's General Administration of Customs.
China recorded a trade surplus of $31.78 billion with the U.S. in October, a decrease from a record $34.13 billion in September.
China's overall trade surplus was $34.01 billion for the month of October, lower than the $35 billion prediction given by a number of economists.
Experts said the data revealed China was largely holding up so far, but that is likely due to exporters benefitting from increased orders before the tariffs went into effect.
They noted the figures would likely exhibit signs of stress in the upcoming months.
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Aijaz Rahi
