China has doubled down on its call for the US to remove all of its imposed tariffs on Chinese goods as a requirement to reaching an amicable trade deal.
China's commerce ministry first issued the demand on Thursday, stating that it was the only way to pave the road to an end to the year-long trade dispute between China and the United States.
On Friday, a blog post on a website connected to state media reiterated that without the removal of US President Donald Trump's recently imposed tariffs could result in a reversal of progress in the trade talks.
Trump recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan over the weekend. The leaders of the world's two largest economies had agreed to a ceasefire in tariff impositions, with a pledge to restart trade negotiations.
Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Gao Feng mentioned on Thursday during a media briefing that the two sides can only reach a deal if the tariffs are removed.
China is apparently clear and consistent in its requirement, with no room for negotiations regarding the matter. The elimination of all punitive tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese goods that was imposed in May is considered to be the country's "most important" request to get it back on the negotiation table.
A number of US officials had stated that some tariffs may remain, even if a deal is struck with China.
The country previously stated that it required three particular demands to be met if a deal was going to be made. This included the removal of all tariffs and a condition that the deal must be based on equality and mutual respect.
The United States already got the ball rolling on the restarted talks with the promise to halt new tariffs on around $300 billion worth of additional Chinese imports. Trump also announced this week that he would be easing trade restrictions against the Chinese tech firm Huawei.
Trump announced that he would be allowing US firms to continue their business with the Chinese firm on the condition that the transaction will not present any kind of national security threat.
Prior to the collapse of trade talks between both nations, China had promised to purchase a significant amount of US agricultural products. This was seen by some as a "special chip" in the negotiations and as a gesture of goodwill on China's part. However, there weren't any real signs of a "tremendous" purchase, which Trump mentioned China had promised to make.
