With strong complementarity, China and the United States should "dispel the cloud" and achieve closer economic and trade cooperation to benefit businesses and peoples from both sides, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on October 18.

Over the past nearly 40 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations, they have forged deeply-intertwined economic and trade ties, Gao Feng, a spokesperson with the MOC told a press conference.

Such closer relations are decided by market forces, and are the result of the joint efforts of the two governments and industries, reflecting the inevitable trend of the global industry chains distribution, Gao said.

"We believe such a trend will not be reversed," he added.

Commenting on more stringent rules on foreign investment review recently unveiled by the U.S. Treasury Department, Gao said, for any country or industry, development will be achieved through opening up and cooperation, while isolation will surely cause backwardness.

It is hoped that the new rules will not bring new uncertainties, or abuse the concept of "national security", but will create a fair, transparent and predictable environment for foreign investors, he noted.

Gao said the United States provoked trade frictions with China, which, to varying degrees, negatively impacted Chinese private companies and foreign businesses operating in China. The affected companies and industries are restructuring and upgrading to cope with the challenges.

In response to questions on whether China is willing to make some concessions in negotiating with the U.S. side, Gao said China's position has been consistent. "If the United States shows sincerity, negotiations should be conducted on the basis of equality, integrity and mutual respect."

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2018)