China says US trade issues are 'definitely' resolvable

BEIJING: China said on Thursday that the thorny trade

issues plaguing relations with the United States are resolvable after fractious
talks between the economic giants were kickstarted by the Trump-Xi meeting in
Japan.

Washington and Beijing have hit each other with

punitive tariffs covering more than $360 billion in two-way trade, damaging
manufacturers on both sides of the Pacific.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi

Jinping agreed to revive negotiations when they met on the sidelines of the G20
summit in Osaka on June 29.

"China's core concerns must be properly

resolved, we believe that the two sides can take care of each other's
legitimate concerns through dialogue as equals," said commerce ministry
spokesman Gao Feng.

"We will definitely be able to find

solutions to the problems," he told reporters at a regular news briefing.

Top US and Chinese negotiators held phone talks

on Tuesday but it remains unclear if the wide rupture that has formed since
talks broke down in May can be patched over.

Since the breakdown, China's state media has taken an increasingly nationalistic tone, putting out articles and commentaries blasting the United States and its tariffs.

Beijing has also outlined three core concerns

it says must be met in order to reach a deal: cancelling all punitive tariffs
imposed during the trade war, reaching a more reasonable figure for Chinese
purchases of US goods, and ensuring a more "balanced" text of the
trade agreement.

On Thursday, Beijing also called for the US to

immediately drop sanctions against Chinese tech giant Huawei, which was
blacklisted in May over national security concerns.

"We have noted Huawei and other Chinese

entities are still on the US export control list, we urge the US to really fulfil
its promises and immediately stop using state power to beat down Chinese
companies," Gao said.

Trump has previously said he could

"imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade
deal", and in Osaka agreed to soften some restrictions on sales of crucial
US components to the firm.