G20: Xi, Trump agree to restart trade consultations

Osaka, June 29 (IANS) Chinese and US Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on Saturday agreed to restart trade consultations in order to end an ongoing impasse between the two economic giants.

Speaking to the media after his highly-anticipated meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit here, Trump said that trade talks with China were back on track.

He described the meeting as "excellent" and "probably even better than expected". "The negotiations are continuing."

Trump however, did not give any other details, saying that an official statement would be released by the two sides later in the day.

At the beginning of their meeting, Xi recalled the start of "ping-pong diplomacy" in 1971 in Nagoya, Japan, where Chinese and US players had friendly interactions at the 31st World Table Tennis Championships, reports Xinhua news agency.

Eight years after that, China and the US established diplomatic relations in 1979, Xi said.

Despite the great changes that have taken place in the international situation and China-US relations during the past 40 years, "one basic fact remains unchanged: China and the US both benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation", Xi said. "Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation."

Noting that he and Trump have maintained frequent telephone and mail contact recently, Xi said he was prepared to exchange views with the US President on fundamental issues concerning the development of bilateral ties, so as to "set a direction for our relationship in a period to come and to advance the China-US relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability".