‘Very difficult and very exhausting’ US-China trade war talks should be ‘treasured’, says Chinese minister
- Zhong Shan is the first senior Chinese official to discuss the meetings that took place in Beijing and Washington
- A trade deal could be signed by President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump during a planned meeting in Florida in March
China’s trade talks with the United States in the last few weeks have been “very difficult” and “very exhausting,” said Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, the first senior Chinese official to discuss the meetings that took place in Beijing and Washington.
The two sides are reportedly closing in on a deal to end the trade war that began in July 2018, with the progress made prompting the US to drop a plan to raise the tariff rate on US$200 billion worth of Chinese products to 25 per cent.
“I’d say it’s hard and difficult because the two countries have huge differences in their institutions, cultures and stages of development. The two sides had to make extra efforts [to reach consensus], so it was very difficult, it is very hard,” Zhong said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress on Tuesday.
“[The negotiation] was also exhausting because the time available for negotiation was very limited – we were originally scheduled for two days and then the talks were extended for another two days, but the time was still very limited. Our team worked overtime and overnight.”