File photo: Xinhua

China and the US will make joint efforts to implement the phase one trade deal, aiming to further advance bilateral economic and trade development and contribute positive growth to the world economy, a senior Chinese trade official said on Tuesday.

Trade frictions between China and the US presented challenges to the two countries and the world as a whole in 2019, and the signature of the phase one trade deal last week was in line with the interests of global producers, consumers and investors, said Chu Shijia, director of the Comprehensive Department of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

China welcomes high-quality and competitive US products to meet continuously growing domestic consumption needs, and hopes the US government will help create conditions to expand its exports to the Chinese market, Li Xingqian, head of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration at MOFCOM, said at the same press conference.

China is one of the world's largest consumption markets and its growth potential is increasing rapidly thanks to its rising demand for a diversified range of products, Li said.

"China will increase its imports of US products based on market demand and WTO rules. This will not affect Chinese imports from other countries,"Li noted.

"We sincerely welcome international companies [to China] to compete on equal footing and develop in the vast Chinese market,"he said.