China vows to buy ‘substantial amount’ of American goods and services, US trade agency says

China has vowed to purchase a “substantial amount” of American goods and services, the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office said Wednesday at the conclusion of three days of discussions between the two countries.

“The talks also focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States,” the USTR said in a statement. “The United States officials conveyed President Trump’s commitment to addressing our persistent trade deficit and to resolving structural issues in order to improve trade between our countries.”

{mosads}The agency added that the two sides focused on “ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations between our two countries.”

USTR did not immediately respond to a request for further info on specific issues discussed during the talks.

The three-day meeting was the first since President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Dec. 1 to halt implementation of new tariffs for 90 days as they seek to reach an agreement that would de-escalate the trade war.

The White House has said that if the two countries do not reach a deal, existing 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports will be increased to 25 percent.

Stocks surged Wednesday in response to the positive news from the USTR, hoping that higher-level talks are on the way, according to The Associated Press.