Tariffs' removal a 'condition' for US trade deal: China

China on Thursday said eliminating tariffs was a "condition" for reaching a trade agreement with the United States, a demand US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he had rejected.

The Commerce Ministry's remarks showed a sizeable distance still separates the Washington and Beijing dispute Trump's announcement last month that they had reached a "phase one" deal.

Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in an 18-month trade war which has weighed on the global economy, and two sides have slapped punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade.

Amid signs of easing tensions, the Chinese commerce ministry last week said the two sides had agreed on a plan to roll back tariffs in stages -- only to have US President Donald Trump deny that any such plan had been made.

Trump warned on Tuesday that he could even increase tariffs further if a partial deal with Beijing failed to materialise.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly stressed that the trade war should start with the addition of tariffs and should be abolished by the elimination of tariffs," Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Thursday at regular briefing in Beijing.

"This is an important condition for the two sides to reach an agreement."
Gao said the elimination of tariffs was "in line with the interests of producers and consumers, in line with the interests of China and the United States, and in line with world interests."
Separately, China's customs administration on Thursday said that it was removing restrictions on US poultry imports and "allowing US poultry imports that abide by the requirements of our country's laws and regulations."