China has refuted the assumption of US President Donald Trump that Beijing needs a trade deal with Washington because of the slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy, Reuters reported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that, given the global economic uncertainty and the slowdown in global economic growth, in the first half of the year China’s GDP growth rates were quite good and corresponded to external expectations.

China’s steady growth is favorable not only for the global economy but also for the US economy, he noted.

 “As for United States’ so-called ‘because China’s economy is slowing so China urgently hopes to reach an agreement with the U.S. side’, this is totally misleading,” he added. “Reaching a trade and economic agreement is absolutely not a one-sided desire of China’s. The U.S. side also has this desire.”

According to him, many people in the US strongly oppose tariffs and trade war.

“I again call on the U.S. side to work hard with China, meet each other halfway, and on the basis of mutual respect and treatment, strive to reach a mutually beneficial, win-win agreement. This accords with the interests of both countries and is what the international community expects,” he added.