AsianFin -- China will no longer seek the benefits reserved for developing nations at the World Trade Organization, removing a key sticking point with the U.S. that has hindered progress on reforming the global trade body.

Premier Li Qiang announced Tuesday in New York that China will stop pursuing new “special and differential” rights in any current and future WTO negotiations, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency and a statement from the WTO’s director-general on X.

Li, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly, made the remarks during a meeting hosted by China on global development. The move could ease longstanding tensions between Beijing and Washington, as the U.S. has argued that the world’s second-largest economy should not continue to claim developing-country privileges in global trade talks.