Sincerity and action create favorable conditions for trade talks

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

As a gesture of goodwill ahead of the next round of trade talks between China and the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday night that he would "move the increased Tariffs on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th." The move comes less than a day after China unveiled lists of products from the United States that will be exempt from the first round of additional tariffs in order to minimize the impact of the trade frictions on import-dependent enterprises in China.

[Photo: VCG]

During a phone call between the heads of the two negotiating teams last week, the two sides agreed to hold the 13th round of China-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Washington D.C. in early October. In mid-September, working groups from both sides will get ready for the talks so that the teams are fully prepared to make substantive progress next month.

On the eve of the new round of talks, the two sides have taken actions and created favorable conditions for making substantive progress, in line with the expectations of the international community. The past year has shown that there are no winners in a trade war, and that a constant escalation of tariffs is not the road to a solution. Only by adhering to the principles of equality and mutual respect, and by negotiating with a calm and rational attitude, can the dispute be defused and differences resolved.

Due to the different economic systems and stages of development of China and the United States, the economic and trade issues between the two sides are inevitably complicated and can't be resolved in a day. The consensus reached between the two heads of state at their meetings in Argentina and Japan was that their countries should move towards dropping all of the additional tariffs introduced during the dispute, and reach a concrete agreement that is fair and beneficial to both sides. To achieve this goal, the two sides should deepen their mutual understanding, seek common ground, respect each other's differences, and resolve problems through cooperation.

As the world's two largest economies, China and the United States have highly intertwined interests and broad areas of cooperation. The differences between the two sides should ultimately be resolved through dialogue and consultation that leads to mutually acceptable solutions. Finding a way forward is a responsibility that China and the United States both bear for their own benefit, and for the benefit of the world community.