The US should meet China halfway and create the “necessary conditions” for bringing bilateral ties back on track, top diplomat Wang Yi has told the new American ambassador, amid White House expectations that a phone call between the two state leaders could occur this week.
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In a meeting with David Perdue in Beijing on Tuesday, Wang said that mutual respect and cooperation were the foundation of stable China-US relations, which he said were at a “crucial juncture”.
“Equality and respect are the prerequisites for interactions, while dialogue and cooperation remain the only correct path forward,” he said, drawing a reference to the two countries’ engagement since diplomatic ties were established in 1979.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were “likely” to have a phone conversation this week.
US trade officials believe a leaders’ phone call would help towards ironing out the details of a trade deal amid heightened tensions since last month’s meeting in Switzerland.
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Both sides have accused the other of breaking a trade agreement reached in the Geneva talks that saw the US and China cutting tariffs on goods from the other country by 115 per cent for 90 days.
US trade officials accused China of not carrying out terms agreed in Geneva, including the removal of an export ban on rare earths. On Friday, Trump personally made the same accusation. Beijing in turn claimed that the US had “severely undermined” the truce.