China and the US are expected to wrap up their phase-one trade agreement soon, a step towards ending the year-long trade dispute and stimulating the global economy, experts and business leaders said.

The comments came after China and the US held what was characterised as “serious and constructive” discussions on Friday to address their core concerns and reach a consensus on principles. The two sides also discussed arrangements for the next step in consultations, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.

Yang Weiyong, an economics professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said signing a preliminary deal should be an “urgent” priority for both China and the US.

To some extent, external pressures can drive Chinese home-grown companies, especially state-owned ones, to perform more competently, but ending the trade dispute will benefit both countries and help cushion the sluggish world economy, Yang said.

China Centre for International Economic Exchanges vice-chairman Wei Jianguo said he is optimistic that the world’s two largest economies will solve their problems peacefully. He said China’s attitude is that the country is unwilling to confront the US but urges the countries to respect each other’s core interests.

Vice-Premier Liu He, responding to a US invitation, spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by telephone on Friday, the ministry said in a brief statement.

The call was made days after Chile announced that it had cancelled the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Meeting scheduled for November 16 to 17 after nearly two weeks in which protests, sometimes violent, rocked the nation.

It was unclear whether the two sides discussed an arrangement for the signing of a phase-one deal, which was originally planned to take place concurrent with Apec. Indications are that they have essentially completed their technical consultations regarding part of the text for a preliminary trade agreement as outlined during the latest high-level trade talks early last month in Washington.

Earlier on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news briefing that Sino-US trade consultations are progressing smoothly and both sides will press ahead with their work as planned.

“It is China’s hope that the two sides can find a way to resolve the economic and trade issues on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.

“As to whether the two heads of state will meet, I can tell you that they maintain contact through various means,” Geng said.

Matt Deppe, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, which has about 10,000 members, said the organisation hopes both sides will get a great trade agreement for all different goods and services that are trading back and forth, because “we think it’s going to benefit both countries”.

Deppe said he was encouraged by the positive moves, because the two countries economically have a lot to offer one another and the rest of the world.

Andrew Ainslie, dean of the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester in New York state, said even though the Sino-US trade tensions have led to a decline in student applications to US universities overall, the school has been working to help candidates through the visa process.

“I don’t think it is going to be there for the long term,” Ainslie said. “I think this is short term.”

In another development on Friday, a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel said that China can impose tariffs on US imports worth $3.58 billion annually because of the US failure to abide by anti-dumping rules with regard to Chinese products.

Yang said the WTO ruling showed that the US had violated the international organisation’s rules, abused trade remedy provisions and seriously damaged fairness in the global trade environment.

CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK