MOFCOM Spokesperson Answers Questions from Reporters on China-U.S. Kuala Lumpur Trade Consultations Joint Arrangement

On October 30th, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce answered reporters' questions regarding the joint arrangement for China-U.S. Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultations.

Q: It is understood that China and the United States reached a joint arrangement to address their respective economic and trade concerns during the economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. Could the Ministry of Commerce provide more information on the consensus reached at the Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultations?

Answer: The leaders of China and the United States have just met in Busan, South Korea, where they discussed topics such as Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations in depth and agreed to strengthen cooperation in these areas. China is willing to work together with the U.S. to jointly uphold and implement the important consensus reached during the leaders' meeting.

The main consensus reached by the Sino-US trade teams through negotiations in Kuala Lumpur includes the following aspects:

1. The U.S. side will cancel the 10% so-called "fentanyl tariff" imposed on Chinese goods (including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region), while the 24% reciprocal tariff imposed on Chinese goods (including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region) will continue to be suspended for another year. The Chinese side will accordingly adjust its countermeasures against the aforementioned tariffs imposed by the U.S. Both sides agree to continue extending certain tariff exclusion measures.

The U.S. side will suspend the implementation of its export control rule on 50% penetration announced on September 29 for one year. The Chinese side will suspend the implementation of relevant export control measures announced on October 9 for one year and will study and refine specific plans.

3. The U.S. side will suspend its Section 301 investigation measures on China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries for one year. After the U.S. suspends the relevant measures, the Chinese side will also correspondingly suspend its countermeasures against the U.S. for one year.

In addition, both sides reached a consensus on issues such as cooperation in combating fentanyl, expanding agricultural trade, and handling cases related to relevant enterprises. The two sides further confirmed the results of the Madrid economic and trade consultations, with the U.S. making positive commitments in areas such as investment, while China will properly address issues related to TikTok with the U.S. side.

The China-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur have achieved positive results, fully demonstrating that by adhering to the spirit of equality, respect, and reciprocity, and through dialogue and cooperation, both sides can find ways to solve problems. The results of the economic and trade consultations have not come easily, and China looks forward to working with the U.S. to implement them, injecting more certainty and stability into China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation and the world economy.