China presses US to remove additional tariffs, sanctions

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – China has called on the US to remove additional tariffs, sanctions and other “suppressive measures,” local media reported.

Beijing has made significant efforts for joint implementation of the “phase-one economic and trade agreement with the US” since it came into force, Gao Feng, spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry, said at a news briefing, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported late on Thursday.

Gao urged the US to “create a conducive atmosphere and sound conditions for the two sides to expand trade cooperation.”

The deal between Beijing and Washington “benefits both sides and the world,” the spokesperson asserted.

When Beijing and Washington inked the deal in January 2020 after nearly two years of negotiations, the US “pledged to cancel some of its additional tariffs on Chinese products,” the report said.

“The agreement ranges from expanding bilateral trade in such sectors as agricultural products, manufactured goods, energy, and service, further broadening market access, to enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights,” it added.

China and the US were engaged in a bitter trade war during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, who slapped tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods and hiked duties, leading to similar measures from Beijing.