China: US should not go 'too far' in trade dispute between the two countries

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on May 18 called on the US to exercise restraint in the bilateral trade war during a phone call with his counterpart Mike Pompeo. According to Mr. Wang, the US has recently made statements and actions that have harmed the interests of China and its businesses.

He said the US should not go "too far" in the trade dispute between the two countries, adding that Beijing was willing to resolve disagreements through dialogue but it must be based on an equal footing.

Regarding the tension between the US and Iran, the Chinese Foreign Minister hopes all parties exercise restraint and act cautiously to avoid escalating tensions.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that Mr. Pompeo discussed bilateral issues and the United States' concerns about Iran with Mr. Wang, but did not provide details.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have recently increased, raising concerns about the possibility of conflict. Earlier this week, the US withdrew some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Iraq following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the war between the world's two largest economies shows no signs of cooling down after China announced new retaliatory tariffs and the US announced it would blacklist technology group Huawei, making it extremely difficult for the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker to do business with US companies.

The US Commerce Department said on May 17 that it may soon ease restrictions on Huawei and issue a temporary general license to avoid disruptions to existing network operations.