China-US economic dialogue lays basis for future cooperation

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=b0527zij7r2&width=500&height=375&auto=0Chinese and US officials on Wednesday concluded the first China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in Washington, which was described as "innovative, result-oriented and constructive".

The dialogue managed to chart the course of China-US economic cooperation and laid a solid foundation for future collaboration, a statement distributed after the meeting on Wednesday said.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang co-chaired the dialogue with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

China's Vice Premier Wang Yang and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attend the China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue to discuss bilateral economic and trade issues in Washington, D.C. on July 19, 2017. 

During the talks, the two sides discussed and reached consensus on a wide range of issues, including China-US trade and investment, the 100-day action plan and the one-year action plan of economic cooperation, global economy and governance, macroeconomic policies, the financial sector and agriculture.

Wang said the establishment of the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue is a key outcome of the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump in their Mar-a-largo summit in April and a major decision taken by the two presidents in view of the overall trend of China-US relations.

He pointed out that China and the US are each other's largest trading partners and major sources of investment, and cooperation is the only choice for them.

As the world's top two economies, China-US cooperation will benefit not only the companies and peoples of the two countries, but also the whole world, Wang noted.

"As President Xi Jinping said, we have a thousand reasons to make the China-US relationship work, and no reason to break it," Wang added.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during the US and China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue at the US Department of the Treasury on July 19, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

The US side said that the first round of dialogue allows the two sides to focus not only on concrete economic and trade issues between the two countries, but also on long-term strategic challenges. 

"As the world's two largest economies and major drivers of global growth, the US and China have strong overlapping interests," the US side noted.

"The two countries need to work together to maximize the benefits for both sides and develop a fairer, more balanced and sustainable economic relationship between China and the US."

As a "template" and example for China-US economic cooperation, the 100-day action plan has produced some industry-specific commitments, including the resumption of US beef sales in China and the pledge to grant US companies limited access to some financial service sectors.

Discussing the one-year action plan of economic cooperation, both sides agreed to further substantiate and improve the plan during its implementation in a result-oriented and mutually-beneficial fashion.

Both countries have agreed to "work constructively together to reduce trade deficit".

Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told CGTN that the Chinese delegation felt very confident and content at the fact that the two sides found this effective mechanism to communicate and address their many differences.

Zhu said that he fathoms Washington's concern about the trade deficit, and noted that the Chinese side believes that one way to address this issue is through the US increasing its goods sold to China.

But the US has placed barriers on its high-tech exports to China, treating China as a more or less hostile power, so it cannot sell products like satellite dishes and integrated circuits to China, Zhu said, calling on the US to loosen its control. 

Zhu indicated that as the US is prioritizing a host of treaties, namely the NAFTA and trade deals with Europe, the Trump administration is postponing talks on bilateral agreements with China.