China will cut import tariffs on passenger cars to 15 percent from the current 25 percent starting July 1, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday, as a step toward policy reform and opening up.

The decision came days after Beijing agreed with Washington that China will "significantly" increase purchases of U.S. goods and services in an effort to reduce China's massive trade surplus with the United States.

The agreement was reached during talks last Thursday and Friday in Washington, in a sign that trade tensions between the world's two largest economies are receding somewhat. U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Beijing to cut high tariffs on imported cars.

On Tuesday, the finance ministry also announced that China will reduce tariffs on 79 automobile parts to 6 percent from 8-25 percent now.

In a separate move, China and the United States have also agreed on the broad outline of a deal regarding the Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that Beijing and Washington are now "engaged in detailed negotiations" about the agreement, indicating Washington is discussing easing sanctions against ZTE.

In April, the U.S. government banned American companies from selling parts and software to ZTE because the company, one of the world's biggest telecommunications equipment makers, had sold products to North Korea and Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions on trade with those countries.

Earlier this month, Trump suggested on Twitter that his administration is considering easing sanctions against ZTE, apparently to use as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with China.