Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on May 21, 2019

　　问：据报道，美国总统特朗普近日接受媒体采访时称，最近几轮美中磋商之前他曾告诉中方，美中之间的协议不可能是对等的（50-50），由于中国过去的贸易做法，协议必须更有利于美国。中方对此有何回应？

　　答：我不是贸易专家，但我觉得有必要厘清“是否对等”和“对谁更有利”这两个概念。两者在贸易关系中不是一回事。

Q: US President Donald Trump recently said in an interview that considering China's previous trade practices, any agreement with China cannot be a "50-50" deal and had to be more in favor of the US side. What's your comment?

A: I'm no expert in trade, but I think it's necessary to make a distinction between "reciprocity" and "equal benefits". These are two different things in trade relations.

　　要求两个经济体在贸易实践中绝对的对等开放是不现实的，更何况经济全球化本身就是各国优势互补、互通有无的过程。我可以举一个例子：2017年，中国对带壳花生征收的关税税率是15%，而美国是163.8%。你能简单说美国占了便宜吗？

　　所谓贸易互惠互利，应该是指所有产业开放市场实现总体互惠和利益平衡。简单认为美国在中美贸易关系中“吃亏”的看法是不科学、不专业的。所以，谈判贸易协议本身不可能在所有领域都要求绝对平等，但必须是双向平衡、平等互利的。

It is only unrealistic to pursue strictly reciprocal openness in trade practices. The fact is, economic globalization by nature is a process where countries leverage their respective strengths and each supplies what the others need. Here is a case in point: China's tariff rate on unshelled peanuts stood at 15 percent while that of the US was 163.8 percent in 2017. Could we simply say the US gained extra advantage?

Reciprocity and mutual benefit in trade refer to the overall reciprocity and balance of interests in the open markets of all industries. The simplistic view that the US is "ripped off" in its trade with China is unscientific and unprofessional. Therefore, when negotiating a trade agreement, one cannot ask for equal benefits in every field. Rather, the agreement must be two-way, balanced and based on equality and mutual benefits.

　　问：昨天意大利副总理萨尔维尼表示，意方一定要将涉及个人财务及健康状况等敏感数据掌控在自己手中，防止这些数据落入中国等非民主国家之手。中方是否对意方的言论感到不安？

　　答：首先，我必须指出的是，在国际关系中，仅仅根据自己的标准去界定什么是民主、什么是非民主，这本身就不是民主的方式。

Q: Yesterday Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini said that Italians must retain control of sensitive data such as personal finances or health conditions, and prevent what he said "an undemocratic country like China" from gaining access. Is the Chinese government upset with his comments?

A: First of all, I have to point out that it is in itself not democratic at all to define which country is democratic and which is not simply by one's own standards.

　　近年来，中国和意大利在相互尊重、平等互利的基础上开展了很多友好合作。大家也都看到，双方合作在不断深化，给两国人民都带来了实实在在的好处。

　　至于意方一些人士或许对中方产品的安全有疑虑，对所有和中国企业开展合作的国家，我们都多次表明过态度：中国政府一向要求中国企业在外国投资和运营应当遵守当地法律法规，同时也希望所有其他国家为中国企业提供一个公平、公正、非歧视性的营商环境。

China and Italy have carried out a lot of friendly cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit in recent years. You may also have seen that in fact the cooperation between the two sides has been deepening and brought tangible benefits to the two peoples.

As to the doubts certain individual in Italy may have over the security of Chinese products, we stated our position on many occasions. The Chinese government asks Chinese businesses to abide by local laws and regulations when investing and operating overseas. In the meantime, we hope all other countries will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese businesses.