CHINA called on the United States to respect international trade rules and improve cooperation and dialogue in reaction to two new orders by U.S. President Donald Trump calling for an investigation into trade abuses.

    Any U.S. trade enforcement measures should comply with generally accepted international trade rules and differences between the two countries should be handled properly, an unidentified spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a speech Saturday.

    “China is willing to cooperate with the United States on a basis of equality and mutual benefit,” the spokesperson said in the speech released on the ministry’s website. China said that the China-U.S. trade imbalance is mostly the result of differences between the economic structures and development stages of the two countries.

    Trump signed executive orders Friday aimed at investigating possible abuses causing large U.S. trade deficits and stopping import duty evasion. He will host Chinese President Xi Jinping this Thursday and Friday in Florida, where trade is expected to be a central talking point. (SD-Agencies)