BEIJING (Reuters) - China is hoping for "positive results" in resolving a trade dispute with the United States at a G20 summit in Argentina, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, ahead of a closely watched meeting of Chinese and U.S. leaders.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to hold trade discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Asked if China was seeking to prevent the imposition of additional U.S. tariffs at the high-stakes meeting, the ministry's spokesman, Gao Feng, said economic teams from both nations were in contact to implement a "consensus" reached by Trump and Xi during a phone call this month.
"I hope that the United States and China could move towards each other and work hard to achieve positive results in the meeting," Gao said, without giving any details.
The United States has levied additional duties of between 10 percent and 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods this year as punishment for what it calls China's unfair trade practices, with the 10 percent tariffs set to climb to 25 percent next year.
A Reuters poll on Wednesday showed China's factories likely struggled to grow for a second straight month in November as cooling demand at home and the threat of higher U.S. tariffs stifled new orders.
"The Chinese side has repeatedly stressed that the essence of Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is about mutual benefit and win-win," Gao said.
White House officials said this week Trump was open to making a trade deal with Xi when they meet.
Trump has lashed out at General Motors Co after its announcement of U.S. layoffs and plant closures and threatened additional tariffs.
In a Twitter post on Thursday that appeared to be directed more at his domestic audience, Trump said: "Billions of Dollars are pouring into the coffers of the U.S.A. because of the Tariffs being charged to China, and there is a long way to go. If companies don't want to pay Tariffs, build in the U.S.A."
(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo, Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel and Bernadette Baum)
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