China, US agree to discuss reciprocal tariff reduction arrangement: commerce ministry

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States have agreed in principle to discuss, under the trade council, a reciprocal tariff reduction framework arrangement on products of equivalent scale worth 30 billion U.S. dollars or more on each side, China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday.

The products of respective concern as agreed by both sides are expected to enjoy most-favored-nation tariff rates or even lower rates, a ministry official said, elaborating on the preliminary outcomes of the recently held China-U.S. economic and trade consultations.

Once implemented, the arrangement will not only help stabilize and expand bilateral trade between China and the United States, but also serve as a useful reference for global open cooperation, according to the official.

The economic and trade teams of the two sides will maintain close communication, work out specific arrangement, and push for its implementation as soon as possible, the official added.