Trade deal requires efforts of both sides: China Daily editorial

Following the consensus that was reached by President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka in June, what both countries do to promote an atmosphere conducive for productive talks is important.

Up to now, several million tons of soybeans have already been loaded onto ships and will soon be on their way to China while the United States has already exempted extra duties on 110 items of industrial products from China, according to information from China's Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce on Sunday.

Some Chinese enterprises have also consulted US suppliers about the prices of cotton, pork and sorghum since July 19, the departments state. And agreements have been reached on some products and exemptions of the extra duties on these US imports have been applied for.

When China stopped buying US agricultural produce because of the extra tariffs the US had levied on Chinese imports, US farmers suffered. That is not what China wants to see. But China had to act when the US unilaterally imposed extra tariffs on imports from China.

China does not and will never rely on imports of agricultural produce to feed its 1.4 billion population. The output of its summer grain was 285.3 million tons this year, according to statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, an increase of 2.1 percent over that of last year. China has also expanded the arable land for soybean production by 6.66 million hectares this year.

But at the same time, China imports agricultural produce as the country needs to complement with imports what is in short supply.

The US is not the only country from which China can import agricultural products to complement what it needs to improve and diversify the diets of its people although the two countries' agricultural industries complement each other.

Actually, China has increased its imports of agricultural products from January to May, with their worth reaching 416.37 billion yuan ($60.53 billion). China has increased its imports from Brazil, East Asian countries, Europe and Australia.

Chinese enterprises will continue to purchase US agricultural products in accordance with the needs of Chinese market. And sources of both departments said that new deals on imports of US agricultural products will be reached as long as prices are reasonable and the products of good quality.

China hopes that more concrete measures are forthcoming from the US to ensure a good atmosphere for the trade talks.