China, US reach consensus

Dialogue affirms trade balance the goal: official

China and the US have agreed to cooperate in cutting their trade deficit, officials from both countries said Wednesday at the conclusion of the first China- US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue ( CED), rendering skepticism by some foreign media outlets over the economic talks.

The two countries agreed to work constructively together to address the trade imbalance, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said after the one- day economic dialogue in Washington, DC, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

“Both sides agreed that one of the ways to solve the trade imbalance is for the US to expand its exports to China, instead of reducing them,” Zhu said, adding that China is not deliberately seeking a trade surplus with the US and is willing to achieve balanced trade.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also noted the bilateral consensus on the trade deficit.

“China acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve,” they said in a statement, Reuters reported.

At a daily briefing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang stated both sides agreed on constructive cooperation in narrowing the trade deficit.

The two countries discussed a wide range of issues, including trade and investment, the China- US 100day action plan, a one- year cooperation plan and global economic governance, and reached broad consensus, the spokesperson said.

Both countries believe this is an innovative, down- to- earth and constructive dialogue, Lu said.

The most significant achievement of the economic dialogue is its acknowledgement of the right direction for Sino- US economic cooperation, and regards win- win cooperation as the underlying principle in developing bilateral trade ties, sets dialogue and negotiations as a basic solution to resolving disputes, and considers keeping key economic policy communication as the fundamental approach to dialogue and cooperation, he elaborated.

A Reuters report on Thursday claimed the two countries failed to “agree on major new steps to reduce the US trade deficit with China,” and went further by saying the failure casts doubts over “US President Donald Trump’s economic and security relations with Beijing.”

“China and the US have differences but the key is to reach a consensus in principle despite these differences. This will lay a good foundation for both sides to resolve their conflicts and problems in the future,” Li Yong, deputy secretary- general of the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times.

“These consensuses mean increasing the size of the pie of common interests to allow both countries to benefit from economic and trade cooperation. In this sense, the dialogue was constructive and a success,” Li said.

The first China- US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue ( CED) concluded in Washington on Wednesday with a canceled news conference. According to a brief statement issued by the US side, “China acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve.” A Chinese statement said the two sides had a frank, friendly and constructive dialogue.

Western mainstream media chanted a pessimistic tune. It noted that the dialogue ended without reaching agreement on major issues, predicted that the Sino- US honeymoon is over, and that the Trump administration will adopt a more hard- line policy toward China.

The news conference was canceled and there was a reason behind it. But neither side emphasized disagreements after the dialogue, which is an important gesture.

The US media has a strong motivation to believe the Sino- US dialogue is falling apart. They may not really want a China- US economic confrontation to break out, but would like to see the Trump administration become a laughing stock.

Also, the US media does not understand the essence of the Sino- US trade issue. Blaming China alone for a bilateral trade imbalance is the error of a layman. The problem lies in the distorted US trade policy toward China. The US is reluctant to sell high- tech products that China actually needs. Instead the US tries to promote the sale of genetically modified agricultural prod- ucts and mediocre automobiles. However, China sells the US products that the US wants. How could the problem be fixed?

Through communication, US trade officials will realize that the problem stems from America's economic structure. Made- in- USA products meet low demand not just in China, but in many places in the world.

American universities are appealing to Chinese students. Washington should create more favorable conditions for Chinese people to study in the US, rather than push Chinese customers to buy unappealing American automobiles.

China is a moderate country, and has no will to confront the US. But Beijing must stick to the bottom line of its national security. China is willing to help the US reduce its trade deficit, but China cannot solve the America's own problems.

Beijing is willing to make adjustments that bring no harm to Chinese national security and are meanwhile acceptable to the Chinese market, but will never make concessions beyond that scope, no matter how much pressure Washington imposes on China.

If Washington imposes punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, then a trade war will be triggered and China will certainly take retaliatory measures. A trade war will only result in lose- lose results, which does no good for the Trump administration.

The Trump administration should remain clear- minded amid pessimistic voices in the US media against SinoUS relations.