Trump meets Chinese vice premier after trade talks

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He in the White House Oval Office on Friday afternoon, after the conclusion of the latest round of high-level economic and trade consultations between China and the United States.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-US comprehensive economic dialogue, first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's message to Trump.

Lately, the economic and trade teams of the two sides have stayed in communication and shown each other goodwill, which has been welcomed by both peoples and the international community, Xi noted in the message.

With the two teams making progress on some parts of the agreement under consultation, it is important that the two sides address each other's concerns properly and make positive headway in the other areas as well, said Xi, reiterating that a healthy and steady China-US relationship serves the interests of both countries and the world at large.

The Chinese president said he hopes that the two sides will work together to advance China-US relations based on coordination, cooperation and stability, manage differences on the basis of mutual respect, and expand cooperation for mutual benefit, so as to bring their relations forward along the right track.

Talking about the latest round of consultations, Liu said the two sides conducted candid, efficient and constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of mutual concern.

Substantial progress was made in such areas as agriculture, intellectual property rights protection, exchange rate, financial services, expansion of trade cooperation, technology transfer and dispute settlement, said Liu, adding that the two sides also discussed arrangements for future consultations.

Properly handling the China-US trade relationship is good for China, for the United States, and also for peace and prosperity of the world, noted the Chinese vice premier.

He said he hopes that the two sides will follow the principles and direction set by the two presidents, meet each other halfway, properly address each other's concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and push for healthy and steady development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

For his part, Trump expressed his appreciation of Xi's message, offered once again his congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and asked Liu to convey his cordial greetings to Xi.

Observing that US-China relations are enjoying strong growth, Trump said he has great respect for China and great respect for Xi, who is a great leader.

Trump also said he is pleased to see that the US-China trade negotiations have yielded "substantial phase one" progress, which is a great thing for both nations and the world at large.

The US president said he hopes that the two negotiation teams will keep up their efforts, finalize the text of the "phase one deal" at an early date, and move forward with future negotiations.

The United States, said Trump, welcomes Chinese students to come and study in the country.