TMTPOST -- China decided to halt its countermeasures against U.S. port fees after the Trump administration took actions to suspend related investigations in shipbuilding.

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China's Ministry of Transport on Monday announced a one-year suspension of special port fees for ships owned or operated by U.S. enterprises, organizations and individuals.The suspension of such fees took effect at 1:01 p.m. on Monday.

Simultaneously, the ministry announced a one-year suspension of its probe into how the U.S. Section 301 investigation affects the security and development interests of China's shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as well as related industrial and supply chains.

These measures are in line with the consensus reached during the recent China-U.S. economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the ministry said.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Monday announced a one-year suspension of countermeasures against five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean leading shipbuilding enterprise, effective on the same day.

The five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean subject to the countermeasures, now suspended for a year, are Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp., according to a previous announcement by the ministry.

The aforementioined China’s suspensions came a day after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced a one-year suspension of the action in the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance. The suspension came into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday.

The suspension follows a trade and economic deal reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced by the White House on November 1, according to a  USTR statement. In light of the deal, and pursuant to the direction of Trump, the USTR is suspending for one year, the responsive actions taken in this investigation. The United States will negotiate with China pursuant to Section 301 regarding the issues raised in this investigation.

China expects the U.S. to continue working with China in the same direction to maintain a fair competition environment in the international shipping and shipbuilding markets, a MOFCOM spokesperson said on Monday.

The suspension of U.S. 301 investigation measures aimed at China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors will help add more certainty and stability to the China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as the global economy, the spokesperson commented on the move. These are important steps that both sides have taken to meet each other halfway, and to work together on implementing the consensus of the China-U.S. economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, the ministry said.

The spokesperson noted that China is willing to communicate and consult with the United States on relevant issues, based on the principles of mutual respect and equal-footed consultation.