China and the United States are maintaining close contact to pursue positive progress in the 13th round of high-level economic and trade consultations scheduled for October in Washington, an official said Thursday.

Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson Gao Feng said at a press conference that China's standpoint on the consultations remains unswerving and expressed hope that both sides will meet each other halfway to seek mutual benefit and win-win results through consultations on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

China and the United States held vice ministerial-level trade talks in Washington between September 19 and 20 and conducted constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of mutual concern. The two sides also carefully discussed the specific arrangement for the 13th round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations.

Gao said that Chinese firms have recently inquired with U.S. suppliers and purchased U.S. agricultural products.

These firms have purchased a considerable amount of soybeans and pork, and the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will exclude the purchases from the additional tariffs.

"China has great market demand for high-quality U.S. farm products and has high complementarity with the United States in the field of agriculture," Gao said, expecting the two sides to make joint efforts and take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation.

Gao said China welcomes the U.S. decision to release lists on exempting additional tariffs on Chinese products, adding that the move benefits both U.S. firms and consumers as well as Chinese firms and will create good conditions for the consultations.