BEIJING

Containers are seen at the container terminal in Lianyungang, eastern China’s Jiangsu province on March 24, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)

China wishes to strengthen economic cooperation with the United States to avoid “vicious competition”, commerce minister Wang Wentao told U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to a readout released on March 27.

The two met on March 26 on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Cameroon’s capital, less than two months ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing.

“China is willing to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States,” Wang told Greer, according to a statement by the Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce.

The two powers must “properly handle the relationship between competition and cooperation” and “avoid vicious competition,” he said.

The world’s two largest economies were locked in a bitter trade battle last year before agreeing to a truce in October.

High-level talks in Paris this month between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also helped to ease tensions.

Nevertheless, issues including U.S. tariffs, a trade balance in China’s favour, and U.S. restrictions on exports of advanced technologies continue to threaten relations.

Wang expressed “grave concerns” on March 26 regarding recently announced U.S. trade investigations signaling the possibility of fresh tariffs.

Washington’s trade investigations target 60 economies, including China, and will look into “failures to take action on forced labor” and whether these burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

The White House has said Trump will visit Beijing on May 14-15, with the timing postponed by several weeks as a result of the war in the Middle East.

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