China and the United States have restarted high-level talks on trade and other economic matters after a phone call between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on Nov 1, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The teams from both sides are working together closely to carry out the consensus reached between the two heads of state, ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a regular news conference.

That is an encouraging sign for the world’s economic recovery, and, more importantly, offers confidence to companies in China and the US, said Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the China Society for WTO Studies.

Many of them have already borne the financial burden caused by tariffs, which have dramatically affected not only trade but also the global value chain and financial stability, he said.

The two presidents agreed in a phone call to meet during the G20 summit in Argentina. Experts and business leaders called it the most important bilateral meeting during the G20, which is from Nov 30 to Dec 1.

Robert Aspell, president for Asia-Pacific of US agricultural conglomerate Cargill Inc, said the best way to solve trade issues is to talk to each other.

With strong complementarity, it can be both profitable and promising for two countries to resume closer economic and trade cooperation to benefit their consumers and businesses, he said.