Move in line with consensus reached by Xi, Trump at last month's G20 Summit 

Some Chinese enterprises have inquired with U.S. exporters about prices for certain agricultural produce and applied for removal of tariffs on foodstuffs, Xinhua News Agency reported on July 21.
 

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will organize experts to review the exemption applications submitted by these enterprises, the report said.
 

This move is in line with the consensus as reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his United States counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held last month in Osaka, Japan.
 

It followed the recent U.S. announcement about exempting 110 types of Chinese industrial imports from additional tariffs. The United States has also expressed its willingness to urge U.S. businesses to continue supplying Chinese enterprises.
 

Chinese enterprises are willing to continue importing certain agricultural produce from the U.S. in order to meet domestic demand. Relevant Chinese authorities have expressed hope that the U.S. will meet China halfway and earnestly implement its commitments, the report said.
 

Marcel Smits, head of corporate strategy at agricultural giant Cargill Inc., said, "Open trade can certainly bring growth opportunities for market players including Cargill, but also benefit China, other participating countries and consumers in the long run."
 

As China undergoes a new round of its opening-up policy, Cargill will have more chances to work together with Chinese partners to drive agricultural innovation, improve the quality of products and services, raise food safety standards and keep prices low for Chinese consumers, Smits said.
 

He said Cargill will continue to participate in the upcoming second China International Import Expo in Shanghai and will double the company's booth size, after having had a successful year in 2018.
 

Bi Jiyao, vice-president of the Beijing-based think tank Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is a win-win relationship.
 

China and the U.S., as the world's two largest economies, can cooperate in a way that can benefit both sides and the world, Bi said. "The global market is large enough for accommodating the common development of China and the U.S.,” the researcher added.
 

On July 18, senior Chinese and U.S. trade officials shared their second phone call since the Osaka G20 Summit, when they agreed to restart economic and trade consultations on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
 

China and the U.S. have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat trade confrontation. They imposed hefty tariffs on each other's imports, affecting industries and sectors such as cotton.
 

Gary Adams, president and CEO of the National Cotton Council of the U.S., said: "While the U.S. cotton industry established a win-win partnership with Chinese cotton and textile industries in the past 15 years, the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions created uncertainty."
 

Adams said cotton prices on the New York Board of Trade had declined around 25 percent in the past 10 to 12 months. The U.S.-China trade conflict inevitably played a role in the decline of prices and exports, he added.