WASHINGTON — China and the United States agreed to step up trade cooperation in civilian high-tech sectors at a key economic and trade talks concluded on July 19.

The two countries pledged to relax export controls under the precondition of guaranteeing the civilian nature of related goods and implementing the protection of intellectual property rights so as to expand and balance two-way trade, according to the Chinese delegation attending the first China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue (CED).

The CED is one of the four major dialogue mechanisms established by the two countries in April during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

Washington has for decades set numerous bans on the export of high-tech products to China citing “national security” concerns.

“If the United States were to liberalize its export barriers against China to the same level as those applicable to Brazil or France, the US trade deficit with China would narrow by up to 24 percent and 34 percent respectively,” Vice-Premier Wang Yang quoted an article published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace when delivering a speech at a China-US business luncheon on July 18 in Washington.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at his opening remarks at the CED that the two countries need to work together to maximize the benefits for both sides and develop a fair and balanced economic relationship between the two countries.