Experts: Constructive approach, not threats, key to resolving trade dispute

The key to guarding the achievements China and the United States made in the previous rounds of the trade negotiation lies in the mutual recognition that a trade war will be detrimental to both sides and the resolution to the trade disputes requires constructive approach instead of short-sighted threats and tactics, experts said on Monday.

The Chinese statement released after the latest round of China-US trade discussions in Beijing was seen as an encouraging sign that positive progress is being made as both sides sought to turn the consensus reached in Washington into concrete actions.

Experts also sensed a firm and consistent tone in the Chinese message that the country will continuously push reform and opening-up to resolve the trade issues with the US while emphasizing that the achievements of the negotiations will only be effective on the condition that both sides agree not to engage in a trade war.

"Only by agreeing to this common ground can both sides truly implement the consensus reached at the Washington meeting," said Tu Xinquan, director of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Tu said that Sunday's statement reflected China's consistency with its policies, including further liberalizing its markets and pushing high-quality development which will not only benefit Chinese consumers but also help drive global growth. But he added that it did not mean that China will make unconditional concessions if Washington adopts unilateral threatening measures, including tariff hikes.

Wang Zhi, director of Research Center of Global Value Chains at the University of International Business and Economics, agreed that a tariff war will hurt both economies and could lead to the unraveling of the entire complex global trading system with disruption reverberating around the world for years.

"If a tariff war is initiated by the US, the economies of two countries will be hurt. US consumer prices would rise and many US companies dependent on trade with China will also be hurt," Wang said.

Wei Jianguo, former vice-minister of commerce, said that negotiations require sincerity and trust and the US side’s practical actions will determine whether the results of trade talks can materialize or not.

"Since China continues to expand imports from the US, the latter should also make a quick response to issues such as opening its manufacturing and service sectors to China and loosening its control on China’s high technology," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the country's door to trade talks is open in principle when asked about when the next round of negotiations with the United States would be.

The numerous rounds of trade consultations between China and US indicated the increasing complexity and the longer-than-expected time it may take for both sides to eventually resolve the trade disputes, economists said.

"We may still see more concessions and temporary agreements, but the trade negotiation will likely be more bumpy and longer than before," said Wang Tao, chief China economist with UBS Securities.