The Ministry of Commerce of China File photo: VCG

China is willing to work with the US to make good use of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, manage differences, advance cooperation and maintain the stable, sound, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, an official of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Monday.

Wang Zhihua, a MOFCOM official, made the remarks at a press conference in response to a media inquiry about an idea floated by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the recently concluded World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Switzerland on another potential round of trade negotiations between the two countries.

In 2025, China and the US, guided by the principles of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit, conducted five rounds of economic and trade consultations, achieving a series of positive outcomes, Wang said. 
This fully demonstrated that through equal dialogue and consultations, China and the US can find ways to resolve issues, said Wang.

Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong said that from a bilateral perspective, under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, the positive outcomes achieved in the China-US economic and trade consultations have provided the global economy with a reassuring signal.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that the Chinese side has taken a consistent stance on China-US economic and trade matters in the past several years, and has constantly promoted bilateral ties to develop in the direction that will benefit both countries and the world, injecting positivity into global trade.

"In 2025, China held its position firmly. In the new year, there is great room to expand the scope of cooperation, and officials at the working level from both sides are expected to consolidate the foundation of cooperation and manage differences under the principles of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit," the expert said.

Following the meeting between the two heads of state in Busan, South Korea, the two sides have maintained continuous communication at various levels through the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, working together to implement the important common understandings reached by the leaders and the outcomes of the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, economic and trade consultation, Wang, the MOFCOM official, said.

At the WEF, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who leads the US side at the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, at the invitation of the latter. They exchanged views on relevant economic and trade issues between the two sides, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Delivering a speech at the WEF Annual Meeting 2026, He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called on the global community to firmly support multilateralism and free trade, and stay committed to win-win cooperation.

China is willing to work with the US, adhering to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, to jointly uphold and implement the important common understandings of the two heads of state, make good use of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism and manage differences, advance cooperation and maintain the stable, sound, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, Wang said. 

"There's a chance that we might meet... and then try to have some kind of further agreement on things we can trade between us that are non-sensitive," the US trade representative said at the WEF, according to Bloomberg.

On January 21, when asked to comment on Greer's claim, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China and the US need to jointly implement the important common understandings reached between the two presidents and inject more certainty and stability into China-US economic and trade cooperation and the world economy. 

At a January 14 press conference, Lü Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, noted that in 2025, China's trade with the US reached 4.01 trillion yuan ($574.66 billion), accounting for 8.8 percent of China's total trade by value.

The essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. Maintaining the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of these relations is beneficial not only to both countries but also to the world, Lü said at the press conference. 

Both China and the US should work together to implement the consensus reached by the two leaders, continuously narrow the list of issues through dialogue and cooperation, expand the list of cooperation, and make China-US economic and trade relations a stabilizer and propeller for the overall bilateral relationship, Lü added.