Both sides agreed to take measures to ease bilateral trade tensions and open markets to each other.
They also agreed not to impose new tariffs, and working teams on both sides will step up negotiations toward the removal of all additional tariffs and reach a mutually-beneficial deal.
Principal researcher Zhang Yansheng of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges says the agreement will be good for the Chinese, American, and world economies.
“The trade war has severely harmed the U.S. economy. The U.S. automaker General Motors have decided to shut down several assembly plants. All walks of life in the U.S., especially consumers, have suffered from the trade war. As such, voice and actions in the U.S. opposing trade war are becoming increasingly stronger. For China, the trade war will also harm the Chinese enterprises,” says Zhang.
Liang Ming, the director of the institute of international trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, suggests the two countries’ awareness of the trade war’s harm, as well as the Chinese side’s sincerity and principles, have contributed to the consensus.
“Leaders of the two countries played a constructive role in the negotiations. The two sides were aware of the impact brought by the trade war between them. China also put forward over 140 proposals, and responded to the concerns from the U.S. side. However, China did not compromise their principles when it came to its core interests,” says Liang.
Liang Ming adds that China and the U.S. should further boost mutual trust, sort out some American people’s misunderstandings of China, and adhere to mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.
In terms of future negotiations, Zhang Yansheng says he’s cautiously optimistic about the issue, and gives some proposals to solve problems.
“China and the U.S. can jointly establish an inspection and monitoring team, in order to investigate whether the two countries have infringed the intellectual property rights, whether they have limited technology transfer, and whether there are agricultural subsidies not conforming to international convention. Both sides should jointly correct the actions that do not follow the market principles,” says Zhang.
The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday is the first meeting between them since Trump paid a state visit to China in November 2017.
