China Says It’s “Ready to Work” on U.S. Trade Accord

China’s central government says it “stands ready to work” on trade reforms with the U.S. to avert a new round of tariffs 90 days from now.

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping talked by phone on Saturday about implementing the general consensus they reached during the G20 economic summit meeting in Argentina four weeks ago. The countries have agreed to suspend further trade sanctions against each other until April 1, pending the outcome of negotiations that will begin in earnest this week.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that “big progress is being made” to resolve U.S. complaints. He has said he will move ahead with plans to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% if the talks fail.

The U.S. is demanding that China end unfair tariffs and non-tariff barriers, end the theft of intellectual property and eliminate business rules that require U.S. companies to reveal tech secrets in exchange for the right to do business in the country.

Trump says the negotiations, if finalized, will result in an agreement that covers “all subjects, areas and points of dispute.”

China’s more cautious statement says only that the country is ready to work with the U.S. to “expand cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and manage differences on the basis of mutual respect.”