BEIJING, Sept. 5 -- China and the United States agreed to jointly take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for subsequent consultations, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

Gao Feng, spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC), gestures at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2019. China and the United States agreed to jointly take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for subsequent consultations, Gao Feng told a press conference Thursday. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

This came after the two countries' chief trade negotiators agreed to hold the 13th round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in early October in Washington and maintain close communication before that, spokesman Gao Feng told a press conference.

Working groups of the two sides will conduct consultations in earnest in mid-September to make full preparations for the high-level talks to achieve substantial progress, Gao said.

China firmly opposes escalating the trade war, which harms China, the United States and the whole world, the spokesman said.