China says Trump, Xi agree to reduce tariffs on some products, but Potus claims issue ‘wasn’t discussed’ – Firstpost

China’s Commerce Ministry on Saturday announced that Washington and Beijing agreed to lower tariffs on some unspecified products in a bid to promote bilateral trade. The announcement came just days after US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping concluded the two-day
US-China bilateral summit.

After the event, the Chinese ministry issued a statement on Saturday, stating that both leaders agreed to revive trade ties.  “Beijing and Washington will adopt a series of measures, including mutually cutting levies on certain products, to expand bilateral trade in areas including agriculture,” the ministry said.

However, it did not provide more specifics, maintaining that both teams are currently negotiating over the details. The statement went on to confirm China’s plan to purchase US planes, although it didn’t provide a number or the brand. China also said it would actively address US concerns on agricultural imports from the US.

No mention of tariffs: Trump

Interestingly, after the summit, Trump hinted that the issue of tariffs didn’t come up in his meeting with Xi. “We didn’t discuss tariffs,”
Trump told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One. “They’re paying substantial tariffs, but we didn’t discuss.”

However, the Chinese government indicated on Saturday that the United States and China did discuss the issue of tariffs during the summit, contradicting Trump’s claim.

Meanwhile, the US officials had previously talked about the boards of trade and investment. On Friday,
Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, confirmed that the two sides would set up a board of trade that would oversee tariff cuts in $30 billion of goods on each side.

Trump and other officials had also noted progress in agricultural trade and sales of aeroplanes.