China indicates tariffs were discussed at Trump Summit
The Chinese government indicated Saturday that the United States and China had discussed the issue of tariffs during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country this past week, seemingly contradicting statements a day earlier by Trump, who said tariffs were not discussed.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a briefing Saturday the countries had agreed in principle to reduce tariffs on a set pool of products that were “of concern to each side.”
The briefing said the countries had agreed to set up separate boards for trade and investment issues, and that the tariff reductions would be discussed through the trade board.
It added that both sides had agreed to push forward with resolving issues in agricultural trade, including China’s concerns about American treatment of bonsai trees, dairy and aquatic products, and the recognition of Shandong province as an area free of bird flu. China would work to resolve U.S. concerns about beef and poultry exports from certain states, it said.
The sides also reached an agreement for China to buy aircraft and aircraft engines and parts from the United States. The Commerce Ministry said the agreements were “preliminary” and that the two sides were still negotiating details.
U.S. officials had previously talked about the boards of trade and investment. On Friday, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, confirmed the two sides would set up a board of trade that would oversee tariff cuts in $30 billion of goods on each side.
Trump and other officials had also noted progress in agricultural trade and sales of airplanes.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump sowed confusion by claiming the two sides did not discuss U.S. tariffs on imports from China, a key issue going into the summit.
“We didn’t discuss tariffs,” Trump said. “They’re paying substantial tariffs, but we didn’t discuss.”
When asked why, the president responded, “It wasn’t brought up.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.