China and the United States achieved substantial progress in multiple areas including agriculture, intellectual property rights protection, exchange rates, financial services, expansion of trade cooperation, technology transfer and dispute settlements after holding a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations on Thursday and Friday.

Under the guidance of the important consensus reached between the heads of state of the two countries, the two negotiating teams conducted candid, efficient and constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of mutual concern.

The two sides also discussed the arrangement for future consultations and agreed to make joint efforts toward eventually reaching an agreement.

The Chinese delegation was led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue. The U.S. team was headed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Also participating in the negotiation were Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, Governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Ning Jizhe, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Wang Zhijun, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Agricultural Work Leading Group and Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun, and Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen.

Read more: Trump meets Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at White House

China and the U.S. had agreed to a truce in the trade war in December 2018 after high-stakes talks in Argentina saw the two parties agreeing to terms, including no escalated tariffs in January 2019.

However, the tension escalated in May when the U.S. raised tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese goods, and China responded by adding tariffs on U.S. goods worth 60 billion U.S. dollars.

The two leaders then agreed on June 29, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka, to restart economic and trade consultations based on equality and mutual respect, with the U.S. side saying it will not add new tariffs on Chinese exports.

Later, the 12th round of economic and trade consultations between China and the U.S. was held in Shanghai July 30-31, discussing why previous negotiations were halted, clarifying their views on certain economic and trade issues, and discussing the principles and methods for future talks.

On September 5, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the invitation of the U.S. side, and both sides agreed to jointly take concrete action to create favorable conditions for bilateral consultations.

Official sources said on September 24 that China supports relevant enterprises continuing to purchase a certain amount of U.S. farm products, including soybeans and pork, in line with the rules of the market and the World Trade Organization.

This came after the United States released three lists exempting additional tariffs on over 400 types of Chinese products.

Wall Street gains due to bullish outlook

U.S. equities finished significantly higher on Friday as market sentiment was underpinned by the latest round of trade talks between China and the United States. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 319.92 points, or 1.21 percent, to 26,816.59. The S&P 500 rose 32.14 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,970.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 106.26 points, or 1.34 percent, to 8,057.04. 

Trade bellwether Caterpillar closed up 4.65 percent, among the best-performing stocks in the Dow. Apple, another trade-sensitive stock, rose 2.66 percent. 

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors gained, with industrials and materials up 1.97 percent and 1.91 percent, respectively, leading the advancers. 

Chipmaker stocks advanced broadly, contributing to the market. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH), which tracks the overall performances of major U.S. exchange-listed companies in the semiconductor industry, rose 2.28 percent.

(With input from Xinhua)