WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday underscored the importance of functional U.S.-China ties and urged Beijing to step up its purchases of U.S. goods and services as agreed under a Phase 1 trade deal despite delays caused by the coronavirus.
The Chamber said the pandemic had clearly slowed progress for both governments, but there were reasons to be hopeful. It also welcomed regular talks between the world’s two largest economies on implementation of purchases, intellectual property reforms and other issues covered by the trade deal.
“Implementation is critical. COVID-19 has unquestionably slowed progress for both governments, and it will be critical for the pace of implementation of purchases to accelerate markedly,” it said in a statement after a virtual meeting of top U.S. and Chinese business leaders on Wednesday.
Despite the challenges and the recent tensions, it said a functional relationship between the two countries was “in the fundamental interests of Americans, and of peace and stability in the world.”
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