China�s government says it will postpone planned punitive tariffs on U.S.-made automobiles and other goods following an interim trade deal with Washington.

Sunday�s announcement came after Washington agreed to postpone a planned tariff hike on $160 billion of Chinese goods and to cut in half penalties that already were imposed.

�China hopes to work with the United States on the basis of equality and mutual respect to properly address each other�s core concerns and promote the stable development of Chinese-U.S. economic and trade relations,� said a Cabinet statement.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that under Friday�s agreement, China committed to buy $40 billion of American farm products over the next two years. He said China also promised to end its long-standing practice of pressuring companies to hand over their technology as a condition of market access.

Beijing had planned to impose 25% duties on American-made autos on Sunday, which would have raised the total charge to 40%. Hardest hit were Germany�s BMW AG and Daimler AG�s Mercedes unit, which ship U.S.-made SUVs and other cars to China.

Other goods were targeted for 10% and 5% penalties.

(AP)