China expressed optimism on Thursday that it could soon reach an agreement with the United States on reducing import taxes, a development that could set a more cooperative tone for the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Commerce Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling stated that negotiators are working to implement reciprocal tariff reductions on $30 billion of goods "at an early date." The comments came during a weekly briefing, and she provided no further details.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in Washington on Sept. 24 for their third in-person discussion in the past year. Both nations have emphasized the importance of these high-level talks in stabilizing their relationship amid competing interests between the world's two largest economies.
"Leaders’ diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations," commented Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Thursday.
The potential tariff reductions are a central component of ongoing negotiations concerning the establishment of a U.S.-China Board of Trade and a parallel Board of Investment. These bodies were agreed upon by Trump and Xi during their previous meeting in Beijing in May, which followed a temporary truce in an escalating tariff war. The goal of the current trade talks is to identify and reduce tariffs on equivalent amounts of "non-sensitive" goods from both sides.
Barclays Bank noted in a research report this week that trade will be a primary focus of the upcoming summit. The bank also pointed out that the current tariff truce between the two countries is set to expire on November 10. However, Barclays cautioned that the potential for a comprehensive trade deal appears limited, making targeted tariff reductions a more probable outcome.