In a regular press briefing, China's Ministry of Commerce outlined Beijing's expectations for Liu's visit and touched on the ZTE case. Our reporter Wang Hui has the details.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is leading a delegation with some deputy ministers from the relevant ministries. The talks started on Tuesday and will close on Saturday. At Thursday's press conference by the Ministry of Commerce, expectations for the trip were outlined.

GAO FENG, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "We hope the two sides can follow the same direction, resolve the contradiction, and manage the divergences, based on the principles of mutual respect and equal negotiations. So that we can achieve a positive and constructive outcome, and facilitate economic and trade cooperation between the two countries."

Since trade tensions between the two countries in late March, one Chinese company has gone through ups and downs. That's ZTE, one of the largest telecom equipment manufacturers in China. The US charged ZTE last month with violating its laws and banned American companies from selling products to the Chinese firm until 2025. But there was an unexpected twist in the saga last week. I raised a question on the matter.

WANG HUI BEIJING "We saw that US President Trump tweeted he was working with President Xi to get ZTE back to business fast. But some media report that China had paid costs to reach this goal. It includes helping American agricultural products exports to China, such as removing punitive tariffs on pork, and helping the development of American companies, such as Qualcomm. Is this true?"

GAO FENG, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "The economic and trade cooperation is formed by the market and facilitated by market forces, so it should follow the rules of the market economy, not planned economy. We will firmly protect our interests, we will not sacrifice our core interests to trade with the US."

WANG HUI BEIJING Spokesman Gao Feng said that China is willing to expand imports from all countries, and welcomes companies from all countries, including the US, to invest in China. Beijing also hopes to see the US drop its trade limitations and provide a fair and equitable playing field for Chinese products and companies. Wang Hui, CGTN, Beijing.