Vice Premier He Lifeng had been in talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent since Saturday aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff rollout.
According to Bessent, both sides will reduce tariffs by 115 percentage points.
The US had imposed tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese goods, while Beijing responded with 125 percent.
That means Washington would reduce tariffs to 30 percent.
As for Chinese tariffs on American goods, 91 percent would be removed and 24 percent suspended, lowering it to 10 percent.
The two countries have committed to these actions by Wednesday.
The joint statement said the decision was made after “recognising the importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy” and “recognising the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship”.
It also said that “the parties will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations”.
It added that these discussions may be conducted alternately in China and the United States, or a third country.
According to the joint statement, China will also adopt all necessary administrative measures to suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures taken against the US since April 2.
The Commerce Ministry said the statement is an important step towards resolving differences between the two countries through dialogue and consultation. (Agencies)
