China on Thursday extended the latest gesture of good will in the ongoing trade dispute with the United States, as the world’s two largest economies prepare for high-level trade talks.
Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China was looking into purchasing U.S. agricultural goods such as pork and soybeans.
Gao said China welcomes good will actions from the Trump administration, and that China hopes the two sides will continue to create favorable conditions for the trade negotiations.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was postponing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15.
He said on Twitter that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had asked for the delay because of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.
Trump’s announcement came after China said earlier Wednesday it is exempting a handful of U.S. products from the next round of its sanctions set to begin Sept. 17. They include shrimp, a cancer-fighting machine, industrial grease and assorted chemicals.
Midlevel negotiators plan to meet later this month to prepare for the first high-level trade talks between the United States and China since July.
The talks are set to open next month in Washington.
The series of tariffs on a large number of products the United States and China buy from each other has rattled investors and made consumers uneasy with the outlook of higher prices.
Trump has long accused China of intellectual property theft and manipulating its currency to make its goods cheaper than American products on the world market.
China says U.S. trade policies are aimed at trying to stifle its ability to compete.