Respect for differences the key to reaching China-U.S. trade deal

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs."

In another sign of progress in the trade talks between China and the United States, in talks held by phone this week, the chief trade negotiators agreed to appropriately address each other's core concerns, and that the technical consultations on the text of parts of the agreement have basically been completed. It is another step towards finalizing a trade deal based on the consensus reached when the negotiators met in Washington two weeks ago.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (L), U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (C) and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. They discussed China-U.S. trade issues in a phone call on Friday, Sept. 25, 2019. [File photo: China Plus]

Whether and how they can properly address the other side's core concerns based on equality and mutual respect is the key to keeping things moving forward. China has been working to meet American demands in areas such as agricultural imports and supervision on fentanyl products. Meanwhile, China is asking for the cancellation of all punitive tariffs, a preliminary figure for purchases of goods from the United States that is in line with China's actual needs, and for the text of the agreement to be balanced. Both sides have identified their concerns and shown a willingness to clear the obstacles in the way of reaching a final agreement.

It is equally encouraging to see them closing in on finalizing the technical details of their trade deal. The United States has agreed to import cooked poultry meat from China, and for an equalization of their catfish product supervision systems. And China has agreed to lift its ban on imports of poultry from the United States, and will implement a public health information system for meat products. Both sides have been working on the details of the final text, and have laid a solid foundation for further talks.

The two negotiating teams have agreed to hold another phone meeting soon to talk about the next steps forward. It's likely that both sides will be keen to speed up the talks as they get closer to finalizing the agreement.

It has taken a lot of effort for the two sides to get back on the right track. To seize the current momentum, they should put the interests of their producers and consumers first, seek common ground, and set aside their differences so as to create a fair environment for the conclusion of a trade deal. After all, a deal that would benefit both countries, and the world at large, requires a wisdom that is capable of dealing with differences in the spirit of mutual respect.