China-US trade negotiations: China pace and achievements

China and the United States have made progress on resolving the ongoing trade tensions during negotiations held in Beijing over the weekend. China's Economic Daily and Global Times have both issued commentaries noting that the deepening of reform and opening up is a strategy that China will unswervingly stick to, and that the United States should be practical in its approach.

[Photo: VCG]

The Economic Daily explains the core aspects of China's approach. First, the "China pace", namely deepening reform and opening up, in essence, is the inevitable choice that satisfies China's development needs. Imported goods are in great demand among Chinese consumers. As domestic demand has become the main driving force for China's economy, expanding import is important for balancing China's foreign trade.

Second, reform and opening up exemplifies the win-win approach that China has been advocating. The move by China to expand imports shows that China is taking responsibility in its promotion of economic globalization.

Third, against the backdrop of China-U.S. trade negotiations, deepening reform and opening up clearly demonstrates China's resolve and confidence in advancing a new round of high level opening up. People who believe that China made this move under pressure from the United States are ignoring China's objective goal, that being, to develop its economy, and ignore the policy of expanding imports that was made ahead of the China-U.S. trade frictions.

The Global Times says that the ups and downs in China-U.S. trade relations offer huge room for bilateral mutual-beneficial cooperation. But it says there are still uncertainties. There is also the possibility that some people in the United States may try to make additional profits out of the conflict, which is impractical. Any trade war actions, like tariffs on Chinese products, can make the consensus reached by the two sides meaningless.