Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce, on Tuesday urged the United States to work with China to foster a favorable environment for practical cooperation in agriculture and other sectors.

Li made the remarks during a meeting with a U.S. agricultural trade delegation in Beijing, where the two sides exchanged views on China-U.S. economic and trade relations and agricultural trade cooperation.

Li stressed that sound China-U.S. economic and trade relations serve the interests of both countries and also benefit the world.

He recalled that since May this year, economic and trade teams from both sides, guided by the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, have held five rounds of talks, contributing to the stabilization of bilateral trade relations. This fully demonstrates that, guided by the principles of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, the two sides can find solutions to issues through dialogue and cooperation, Li added.

Li noted that China and the United States are important partners in agricultural trade. He pointed out that fluctuations in China-U.S. agricultural trade this year stemmed from the unilateral tariff measures imposed by the U.S. side.

In fact, the two countries enjoy respective strengths in natural resources, markets, capital, and technology, with strong complementarities and broad room for cooperation, he added. 

Members of the U.S. delegation said that China is a major export market for U.S. agricultural products and the U.S. farming community values its partnership with China and is committed to expanding cooperation.

They emphasized that stable China-U.S. economic and trade relations are vital for bilateral agricultural trade and expressed hope that the relationship will continue to develop steadily.