The Chinese government indicated on Saturday that the United States and China had discussed the issue of tariffs during President Trump’s visit to the country this past week, seemingly contradicting statements a day earlier by Mr. Trump, who said that tariffs were not discussed.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a briefing on Saturday that the countries had agreed in principle to reduce tariffs on a set pool of products that were “of concern to each side.”
It said that the countries had agreed to set up separate boards for trade and investment issues, and that the tariff reductions would be discussed through the trade board.
It added that both sides had agreed to push forward with resolving issues in agricultural trade, including China’s concerns about American treatment of bonsai trees, dairy and aquatic products, and the recognition of Shandong province as an area free of bird flu. China would work to resolve U.S. concerns about beef and poultry exports from certain states, it said.
The sides also reached an agreement for China to buy aircraft and aircraft engines and parts from the United States. The commerce ministry said that the agreements were “preliminary” and that the two sides were still negotiating details.
U.S. officials had previously talked about the boards of trade and investment. On Friday, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, confirmed that the two sides would set up a board of trade that would oversee tariff cuts in $30 billion of goods on each side.
Mr. Trump and other officials had also noted progress in agricultural trade and sales of airplanes.
But speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Mr. Trump had sown confusion by claiming that the two sides did not discuss U.S. tariffs on imports from China, a key issue going into the summit.
“We didn’t discuss tariffs,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re paying substantial tariffs, but we didn’t discuss.”
When asked why, the president responded, “It wasn’t brought up.”
Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.
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