BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Wednesday the two countries were trying to resolve their differences over trade, but warned of forces he said were seeking a wedge between the two sides, without giving details.
The ambassador said at a dinner hosted by the US-China Trade Council that US-China relations are at a critical crossroads due to trade disputes, but he made it clear that a better course could be taken.
"We have to be careful that some destructive forces are exploiting the current trade dispute (through) the use of extremist rhetoric," he said.
He urged US and Chinese companies keen to expand trade between the two countries to stand against what he described as efforts to spread hostility and even create conflict between the two countries, as well as spreading "false news" about the situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, a volatile region in western China inhabited by a large minority of Uighur Muslims Some US officials say they are victims of human rights abuses.
His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump said a long-awaited interim trade deal with China could be postponed until after the November 2020 US presidential election and amid moves in the US Congress to address the Uighur issue.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that tariffs had to be reduced in order to reach a "phase one trade agreement" with the United States.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng told reporters Thursday that the two sides maintain close contact.
The Phase One agreement was initially expected to be completed in November, ahead of a new round of US tariffs slated for December 15.