Trump meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Washington

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US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy and Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on Thursday.

Liu arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday afternoon for economic and trade consultations with the US side at the invitation of the US government.

Liu, chief of the Chinese side of the China-US comprehensive economic dialogue, leads a delegation whose members come from major economic sectors of the Chinese government.

Liu said that his ongoing visit aims to continue the in-depth communication with the US side on bilateral economic and trade issues in accordance with the consensus of the two presidents.

China is willing to work together with the US to address the trade and economic issues of mutual concern on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, in a bid to make sure that the bilateral trade and economic cooperation remains to serve as the ballast stone and propeller for China-US relations, Liu said.

VCG Photo

He said that China-US relations, guided by President Xi and President Trump, have made important and positive progress.

The development of China-US relations is at an important stage, he said, and both sides should meet each other halfway, and work together with mutual respect to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties.

Trump said the two sides should prioritize trade and investment cooperation in such areas as energy and manufacturing, expand agricultural product trade and market access, beef up cooperation in intellectual property rights protection, and bring more tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

He said maintaining good economic and trade cooperation matters a lot to both countries.

He added that the two nations are enjoying sound development momentum, huge market potential and wide room for furthering economic and trade collaboration.

The White House host urged economic teams of the two sides to work together to proactively settle the problems existing in bilateral economic and trade relations.

Trump also said that he highly values the good working relationship and personal friendship with President Xi Jinping, and he is willing to maintain close contact with President Xi and jointly advance the sustained development of US-China relations.

US Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and the US trade representative Robert Lighthizer also attended the meeting.

China denied rumors in a press briefing on Friday that during trade talks, the country is offering Trump a package of trade concessions and increased imports of US goods to reduce the US trade deficit by 200 billion US dollars.

“The rumor is not true. As far as I know, the relevant consultations are still in progress, and the consultations are constructive,” said Lu Kang, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.