China's foreign minister says his country is willing to buy more U.S. products, saying both sides are showing goodwill ahead of new trade talks.
"We hope both sides can take more enthusiastic measures, reduce pessimistic language and action," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday in New York. "If everyone does this, talks will not only resume but will proceed and yield results."
He noted that the U.S. had already waived tariffs on many Chinese products.
Wang hosted a lunch for top diplomats from the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, France, Russia and the United States.
High-level trade talks between the U.S. and China are set to resume Oct. 13 after making little progress all summer and creating uncertainty among investors.
Wang spoke of goodwill by both sides. But U.S. President Donald Trump made especially harsh comments about China when he addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Sept. 24, 2019.
Trump accused the Chinese of breaking fair-trade promises when it joined the World Trade Organization. He wondered why the world's second-biggest economy still gets preferential treatment as a developing economy.
The president also repeated past accusations about the theft of intellectual property and trade secrets "on a grand scale."
But he said he still hoped both sides could reach a trade deal that would benefit both countries and "restore balance in our relationship with China."