Beijing says it remains open to buying more agricultural products from the United States, but wants reciprocal tariff cuts covering US$30 billion worth of products on each side to be implemented first under the US-China Board of Trade.
“China has always maintained an open attitude towards expanding agricultural imports from the United States, provided that the agreed-upon reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement – covering $30 billion on each side – is implemented,” Huang Ling, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday.
The comments followed the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in this week’s US midterm elections, which analysts said could complicate trade talks between Beijing and Washington ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month by raising questions about the Trump administration’s ability to honour its commitments.