The top trade representatives of the United States and China have held official contact for the first time since the U.S.-China summit in Beijing last May to discuss pending issues.

According to China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held a video call on the evening of the 30th (local Chinese time) with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

Xinhua reported, "Focusing on effectively implementing the important consensus reached by the heads of state of China and the U.S. at their Beijing meeting, the two sides held candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges on maintaining the stability of China-U.S. economic and trade relations, expanding practical cooperation, and appropriately resolving mutual concerns in the next stage."

The agency also stated, "China expressed solemn concerns regarding recent U.S. economic and trade restrictive measures against China."

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at the Beijing summit (May 13–15) to establish a "constructive strategic stable relationship," set up a trade and investment committee, discuss mutual tariff reductions on an equal scale, jointly study rare earth export control issues, and increase China's imports of U.S. agricultural products and aircraft.

However, even after the summit, the two countries continued to exchange blows, including export controls on key materials and corporate sanctions.

China's "expression of solemn concerns" appears to target recent measures introduced by the U.S. government, such as controls on cutting-edge sectors like semiconductors and robotics.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)