China urges US to ‘abide by’ consensus reached at London trade talks

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Thursday urged the US to “abide by” the consensus reached at London trade talks, a day after President Donald Trump said a deal with Beijing was “done.”

“Now that a consensus has been reached, both sides should abide by it,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

Lin was reacting to Trump’s statement that full magnets, and “any necessary” rare earths, “will be supplied, up front, by China.”

The statements came after Beijing and Washington concluded two-day trade talks in the UK late Tuesday.

“The China-US trade meeting was held under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, and the two sides reached a consensus in principle on the framework of measures to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in their phone call on June 5 and consolidate the results of the Geneva economic and trade talks, and made new progress in resolving the economic and trade concerns of both sides,” Lin said about the outcome of London meeting.

“It is hoped that the US will work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone call, give full play to the role of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, enhance consensus, reduce misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation through communication and dialogue,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

He added that Beijing “always honors its commitments with concrete actions.”