November 6th, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun presided over a regular press conference.
Reuters reporter asked yesterday that Huang Ling, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that China has always been open to expanding its procurement of agricultural products from the United States, provided that the "30 billion to 30 billion" reciprocal tariff reduction agreement is implemented. Does this mean that China will not start fulfilling its commitment to purchase $17 billion in agricultural products unless the tariffs are reduced?
Guo Jiakun said that it is recommended to further inquire with the Chinese authorities regarding this issue. Maintaining the stable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations is in the interests of both countries and their peoples, and is also beneficial to global economic development. Both sides should work together, adhere to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and promote the continuous and stable improvement of Sino-US economic and trade relations.
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce on November 5, a reporter from the American Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) asked about the meetings held on November 2. Li Chenggang, the representative for international trade negotiations and deputy minister of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, met with a delegation from the United States responsible for agricultural product trade. What agreements were reached between the two sides regarding the expansion of Chinese imports of US agricultural products? Were these discussions primarily focused on soybeans or other agricultural products?
Regarding this, Huang Ling, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, stated that Sino-US agricultural trade is an important part of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Expanding cooperation in the field of agricultural trade can not only enrich the diets of the two nations' citizens, but also provide stable economic income for both countries' enterprises and farmers, bringing real benefits to both sides.
Huang Ling emphasized: "China has always been open to expanding its purchases of agricultural products from the United States, but this is subject to the implementation of the '30 billion for 30 billion' reciprocal tariff reduction agreement between the two sides."
She also stated that she hopes the US and China will work together to create more favorable conditions for agricultural trade between the two countries by jointly reducing tariffs, minimizing non-tariff barriers, and expanding market access.
Reuters reported on the same day that this statement once again clarified that expanding Sino-US agricultural trade requires mutual creation of favorable conditions by both parties. It is not enough to simply require China to increase purchases; tariff concessions remain an important condition for China to promote bilateral agricultural trade cooperation.
