Wang calls for US and China to ‘overcome obstacles’ ahead of presidential summit

[AP Photo]

China’s foreign minister said his country and the United States should overcome obstacles between the nations ahead of an expected summit next month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Wang Yi met with U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue on Wednesday and called on both sides to “focus on the positive agenda, properly manage differences, remove interference and overcome obstacles to high-level exchanges between the two countries,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday.

China-U.S. relations “still face various risks and challenges,” he acknowledged in a statement released by CCTV.

Trump and Xi met in May in Beijing and pledged to keep the relationship stable and maintain the fragile trade truce. Trump invited Xi to meet Sept. 24 in the U.S. but the exact date of the Chinese leader’s visit has not been confirmed.

Since then, however, the U.S. and China have continued to take targeted economic action against each other including the U.S. banning Chinese-made robots and China banning American entities engaging in trade and other activities in China.

According to Xinhua, Wang told Perdue that the two governments should put into practice the understandings reached by their presidents and work toward a constructive relationship built around strategic stability.

Wang said improving relations and pursuing peaceful coexistence through mutual respect would benefit people in both countries and respond to international expectations. He urged the two sides to keep disagreements under control while advancing cooperation and preparing for further exchanges between their leaders.

Perdue said both sides were prepared to strengthen communication and cooperation ahead of the next round of high-level interactions, Xinhua reported, citing a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement released yesterday.

The ambassador also emphasized respect and reciprocity as foundations for a more stable relationship, according to the Chinese account. The meeting took place in Beijing on Wednesday.

Xinhua also reported that Perdue conveyed American condolences over casualties from a mudslide at a port on the China-Nepal border in Tibet, adding a humanitarian message to the discussions of broader bilateral relations.

The diplomatic preparations come as another potential tariff increase threatens to complicate efforts to keep economic relations on a steadier course.

AP reported that Washington was considering an additional 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods following an investigation into excess industrial capacity involving 16 economies. No final decision had been publicly announced. The administration also said last month it was imposing a 12.5% tariff on China after a separate forced-labor investigation covering 60 economies.

The May summit produced agreements to establish trade and investment boards, AP reported. Those initiatives followed a period of sharply heightened tensions after Trump’s return to office, before the two governments reduced tariffs and sought to stabilize their dealings.

China’s Commerce Ministry rejected the proposed additional duties yesterday, Xinhua reported, describing Washington’s approach as unilateral and protectionist and accusing it of politicizing trade.

The ministry’s objections concerned the U.S. investigation into manufacturing capacity, which Washington launched in March under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The inquiry examines what the United States considers structural excess production across the economies involved.

Commerce Ministry spokeswoman Huang Ling said Beijing would monitor and assess any subsequent American measures and retained the option of responding. Her comments did not announce a specific retaliatory step or set out a timetable for action.

China has argued that manufacturing capacity should be assessed comprehensively and fairly. A position paper issued by the commerce ministry last month warned that protectionism could damage global growth over the longer term, China Daily reported.

The competing positions leave the governments preparing for presidential diplomacy while disputing the trade policies that helped make such talks necessary.

In a separate report this week, AP said the proposed tariff was being calibrated to avoid derailing the trade truce or the planned presidential meeting. Its reporting cited people familiar with the deliberations, with the decision still under consideration.

That report placed the latest tariff discussions against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling that blocked earlier Trump duties and prompted the administration to seek other legal routes for imposing import taxes.

For now, Wang’s meeting with Perdue offered a public signal that preparations were continuing, even as neither side indicated that the underlying economic disputes had been resolved.