By AFPMore by this AuthorBEIJING,The presidents of China and the US have exchanged messages vowing to boost cooperation despite a bruising trade war on the 40th anniversary of the countries' diplomatic relations, Chinese state media reported. Tensions between Beijing and Washington soared in 2018 over trade disputes, although US President Donald Trump has frozen the latest planned tariff hike and on Saturday reported "big progress" after a call with his counterpart Xi Jinping. "SOLID FRIENDSHIP"In the messages sent Tuesday, President Jinping underlined the importance of working with the US "to advance China-US relations featuring coordination, cooperation and stability", state news agency Xinhua reported. According to Xinhua, Mr Trump praised the last four decades of diplomacy between China and the US, hailing his "solid friendship" with the Chinese leader. President Trump initiated the trade war because of complaints over unfair Chinese trade practices -- concerns shared by the European Union, Japan and others.

Source: Daily Nation January 01, 2019 06:00 UTC