China praises truce in trade war with US

China on Monday praised the recent agreement with the U.S. to call off tariff threats while they negotiate a more encompassing trade agreement, Reuters reported.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that both countries understand that reaching an agreement would benefit everyone, according to the report.

“China has never hoped for any tensions between China and the United States, in the trade or other arenas,” Lu said.

{mosads}

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the trade war had been placed “on hold” while both countries work on issues that had led to recent conflicts.

Chinese state media expressed relief for the cooling tensions between China and the U.S. while touting China’s refusal to surrender.

“Despite all the pressure, China didn’t ‘fold’, as U.S. President Donald Trump observed. Instead, it stood firm and continually expressed its willingness to talk,” the English-language newspaper China Daily wrote in an editorial Sunday.

“That the U.S. finally shared this willingness, means the two sides have successfully averted the head-on confrontation that at one point seemed inevitable,” the paper said.

It remains unclear if China will be able to meet all of the Trump administration’s requirements for what it deems a fair trade deal.

Issues could arise around the United States’ allegations of intellectual property theft and the president’s desire to shrink the large trade deficit.