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US-China relations
EconomyChina Economy

China ‘open minded’ on G7 talks over issues at heart of US-China trade war, WTO ambassador says

  • Trade ministers from the world’s seven largest advanced economies are working on an initiative aimed at reining in Chinese trade abuses
  • They include forced technology transfer, market-changing industrial subsidies and trade-distorting actions by state enterprises

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Former assistant commerce minister Li Chenggang was appointed as China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in February. Photo: China Ministry of Commerce
Bloomberg

China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said there is scope for Beijing to work with the United States, the European Union and other Western nations on an agreement aimed at curbing the practices at the heart of the still-simmering US-China trade conflict.

“China will keep an open mind to that,” Li Chenggang said in an interview in Geneva on Wednesday, his first known talk with a Western media outlet since being appointed in February.

“If we have a fair and a frank discussion on the issues, I think China will try its best to keep an open mind.”

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Trade ministers from the world’s seven largest advanced economies are working on an initiative aimed at reining in Chinese trade abuses such as forced technology transfer, market-changing industrial subsidies and trade-distorting actions by state enterprises.

You cannot prejudge your conclusion and then put rules on the table and ask others to say simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’. That will make the discussion very difficult
Li Chenggang

The goal of the Group of 7 (G7) in the talks, which have been ongoing since 2017, is to produce an agreement that might eventually be adopted by the members of the WTO.

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