Chinese, U.S. trade officials agree to strengthen exchanges: commerce ministry

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Commerce and trade officials of China and the United States stressed the significance of bilateral economic and trade ties and agreed to maintain and strengthen exchanges, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting said Thursday.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai last week when he was in the United States for the APEC trade ministers meeting.

The two sides exchanged views on economic and trade issues of their respective concerns and discussed possible areas of cooperation, Shu said at a press briefing.

China hopes that the United States will, based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, work with China to manage differences, and safeguard and deepen bilateral pragmatic economic and trade cooperation, so as to benefit the two countries and peoples and promote global economic development, Shu said.

The spokesperson also said that the U.S. side's semiconductor industry policy and export control have been China's important economic and trade concerns, and were key issues raised by the Chinese side during the talks.

The officials carried out in-depth exchanges on the issue and agreed to continue the discussion, Shu said.