Principles for USChina negotiations
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the US on Thursday and Friday to continue highlevel trade negotiations. His new title as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special envoy indicates the importance and authoritativeness of the talks. As preparation for the event, consultations at vice-ministerial-level between China and the US were recovered on Tuesday.
The world’s stock markets surged Monday due to the optimistic prospects on the deals that Beijing and Washington are expected to make. US President Donald Trump praised “big progress” in the trade deal on Twitter. His words further stoked the stock markets of the US, which reached the highest in two months and so increased pressure on the Trump administration to close the deal with China.
Analysts believe that if the two countries couldn’t come to an agreement, and as a result the US imposes more tariffs on Chinese products while China responds with fiercer countermeasures, it would be a catastrophic strike to global stock markets.
In terms of avoiding such blows, the Trump administration is probably the most pressured. Thus in general, by the end of the trade negotiations, China and the US have become more psychologically equal.
Both sides have showed their strength and volition in the unprecedented trade war: The US didn’t easily stop and China was not that fragile to be defeated. However, it has proven no empty talk that in a long-term trade war, both sides would eventually lose.
President Xi and President Trump reached consensus on December 1 and put the two countries back onto the win-win track. The consensus has responded to the situation, conformed with people’s wishes and reversed the pessimism of the market.
Starting December 2018, rounds of consultations resolved a large number of divergences. The outcome has been sufficient to outline a new face of China-US economic and trade cooperation and to bring an incalculable impetus to both sides’ economic development.
In the final phase of the talks, both sides must keep calm, treasure the already-made achievements and promote smoother and fairer China-US trade cooperation.
US demand for China’s structural reform must stay in line with China-US trade cooperation and coordinate with China’s reform and opening-up. The talks must not try to force Beijing to change its economic governance or even its development path.
The final deal should attend to the interests of nongovernmental organizations that ultimately carry out economic and trade cooperation.
China and the US must sign an agreement that will inspire their people, heralding accelerated economic development. Only such deals can withstand the test of history.