China, US trade chiefs had 'candid' call weeks ahead of expected Trump-Xi summit

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng had "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges" with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over a video call on Thursday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The Chinese side "expressed serious concern over the recent U.S. restrictive trade measures against China", but both sides agreed to further enhance consensus, manage differences and strengthen cooperation, according to CCTV. The trio last met in March for in-person trade talks in Paris.

The U.S. Treasury and USTR did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The video call - which China said was aimed at "properly resolving economic and trade issues of mutual concern and expanding pragmatic cooperation" - came weeks before an expected summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-May.

The two countries reached an uneasy trade truce last October when they met in Busan, South Korea, following a months-long tit-for-tat trade war sparked by Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs.

Ahead of the planned May summit, ties between Beijing and Washington have remained largely calm despite energy and geopolitical complications brought by the war on Iran.

The two have also sought to ramp up leverage before the leaders meet, with Washington curbing tool shipments to one of China's leading chipmakers and Beijing rolling out trade measures that analysts say could seriously undercut American efforts to reduce supply chain dependence on China.

Both sides expressed willingness to "promote the health, stable and sustainable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations" during Thursday's call, Chinese state media said.

Reuters

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