China welcomes US decision to suspend tariff hike

China on Saturday welcomed the US decision of suspending the tariff hike of goods imported from China, as the two countries intensified negotiations to reach a deal to end the current trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The Customs Tariff Commission of China said it accepted the statement from US Trade Representative Office, which stated that Chinese goods that have been subject to tariffs since September 2018 will maintain a 10-per cent tariff rate until further notice, state-run CGTN television reported.

The US earlier announced a tariff increase of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, which was initially scheduled for January 1, but the Trump administration extended the deadline for 90 days due to progress in talks.

Trump is demanding China to reduce the USD 375 billion trade deficit and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access to American goods to Chinese markets.

He has already increased the tariffs on over USD 250 billion worth of Chinese exports to US and threatened to extend tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 per cent.