Chinese trade delegation to visit Washington after Canada trip

Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce, briefs the press following the new round of economic and trade talks between China and the United States in Stockholm, Sweden, July 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

A Chinese trade delegation will visit Washington to meet with US officials, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced Thursday. The delegation, led by Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice commerce minister, will visit the US after visiting Canada from August 24 to 27, said ministry spokesperson He Yongqian.

China is willing to work with the US to leverage the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, resolve issues through equal-footed dialogue and communication, and jointly maintain the steady, healthy and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations, the spokesperson said.

"This is overall a positive signal. Both sides show willingness to engage, opening a new negotiation window before November, after China and the US reached consensus on extending tariff suspension for another 90 days in August," Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Maintaining communication

Huo noted that both sides agree to continue to maintain communication, which indicates that both sides have a need to discuss tariff issues. While the overarching framework has been largely agreed upon by the two countries during the latest negotiations that paused the tariffs for another three months, there are still many technical issues that need to be coordinated, including discussions on restricted exports, Huo said.

"If the negotiations proceed smoothly this time, the representatives of both sides may conduct further discussions. Continued dialogue and reciprocal visits remain essential for trade talk progress," said Huo.

In May, China and the US released a joint statement on the China-US Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva, with the parties announcing the establishment of a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In June, the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism was held in London. In July, Chinese and US delegations convened in Stockholm, Sweden for a new round of economic and trade talks. On August 12, the two parties released a joint statement on the Stockholm meeting, which said the US will extend the tariff suspension on China for another 90 days and China likewise will continue to suspend its earlier tariff hike on US goods for 90 days.

Strengthened communication between China and the US is also what the world expects. In a turbulent external environment, dialogue between these two major economies to reduce differences can further stabilize the global economy and boost investment confidence, said Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade.

Huo noted China's proactive stance in seeking dialogue, stressing that mutual sincerity is crucial, particularly from the US, to pragmatically resolve tariff issues and concerns.

At a press conference on Tuesday, in response to a Bloomberg question claiming that US President Donald Trump said the US has more leverage over China on trade than the other way around, Guo Jiakun, spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry, said that China always follows the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation to handle and grow its relations with the US.

"We will also firmly safeguard our sovereignty, security and development interests. We hope the US will work with us to jointly promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of bilateral ties," Guo noted.

Critical China-Canada meeting

Before Li's trip to Washington, he and Rob Stewart, deputy minister of International Trade of Canada, jointly chaired the 28th meeting of the China-Canada Joint Economic and Trade Commission in Ottawa on Tuesday. The two sides conducted candid, pragmatic, and constructive exchanges on improving and developing bilateral economic and trade relations, properly addressing each other's economic and trade concerns, and advancing practical economic and trade cooperation, MOFCOM said on Thursday.

Li emphasized that this meeting serves as a critical step to implementing the consensus reached in the phone call between the premiers of the two countries. Prior to the meeting, both working-level teams conducted thorough preparatory work. During the discussions, the two sides, guided by mutual respect and mutual benefit, actively explored concrete pathways to enhance bilateral economic and trade relations under the new circumstances.

China is willing to work with Canada to leverage the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of strategic partnership as opportunities, adopting constructive approaches and pragmatic actions to manage differences, address mutual economic and trade concerns, and jointly expand cooperation areas, Li said.

The two sides agreed to continue leveraging the China-Canada Joint Economic and Trade Commission mechanism, and through subsequent communications and exchanges, to accumulate positive outcomes in economic and trade cooperation and promote the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

The meeting marks the first between the world's two major economies under the Joint Economic and Trade Commission mechanism after a hiatus of nearly eight years, as the 27th China-Canada Joint Economic and Trade Committee was held in Beijing in November 2017.

"It signals a positive step by China and Canada to resuming high-level dialogue and exchanges, which is significant for improving and promoting bilateral economic and trade relations," Zhao Xingshu, deputy director of the department of Canadian studies, Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

However, some of Canada's unreasonable actions against China have intensified bilateral trade tensions. Starting from July 31, Canada started to impose additional tariffs on certain steel goods melted and poured in China and certain aluminum goods smelted and cast in China, according to the Canadian government website.

On August 15, MOFCOM filed a lawsuit against Canada at the WTO over its import restrictions on steel and other products, urging Canada to take immediate steps to correct its erroneous practices, uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system, and promote the continuous improvement of China-Canada economic and trade relations.

As Canada also faces rising trade protectionism, the two countries should strengthen cooperation under the multilateralism framework, Zhao noted, urging the Canadian side to maintain policy autonomy, face up to its economic and trade cooperation with China, and jointly safeguard the stable development of the international trade order.