Ross was speaking at a signing ceremony in the Chinese capital for commercial deals worth about $9 billion on Trump’s visit.Trump has ratcheted up his criticism of China’s massive trade surplus with the U.S. – calling it “embarrassing” and “horrible” last week – and has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices, fuelling worries of increased tension between the world’s two largest trading countries.

“Addressing the imbalance in China trade has been the central focus of collaborative discussions between President Trump and President Xi and achieving fair and reciprocal treatment for the companies is a shared objective,” Ross said.Data on Wednesday showed China’s exports to the U.S. rose 8.3 percent in October on the year, while imports grew 4.3 percent. That led…