China and US Reach Agreement, Vow to Avoid 'Trade War'

By That's, May 21, 2018

Over the weekend, China and the United States issued a joint statement agreeing to ease trade tensions and vowing to avoid an all-out trade war.

According to the statement, delegations from both countries met last week in Washington DC. At the direction of Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, they decided not to impose new tariffs on each other while talks were ongoing.

The two countries also agreed to "substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China." Here's part of the statement released to the press (via Kinja):

There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China. To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services. This will help support growth and employment in the United States.
Both sides agreed on meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports. The United States will send a team to China to work out the details.
The delegations also discussed expanding trade in manufactured goods and services. There was consensus on the need to create favorable conditions to increase trade in these areas.
Both sides attach paramount importance to intellectual property protections, and agreed to strengthen cooperation. China will advance relevant amendments to its laws and regulations in this area, including the Patent Law.
Both sides agreed to encourage two-way investment and to strive to create a fair, level playing field for competition.
Both sides agreed to continue to engage at high levels on these issues and to seek to resolve their economic and trade concerns in a proactive manner.

Read the full thing here.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also added: "We're putting the trade war on hold. We have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework."

We hope this means cheaper pizzas for American citizens in Chengdu.