Dialogue 'best way' to avoid trade war

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - A senior US State Department official spoke on Monday of the need to improve dialogue with China at a critical time when the two countries face a potential trade war.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will arrive in Beijing on Thursday. His trip is among a number of visits within the last month by US officials to China during a time of tension between the two nations.

"History teaches that moments of great change are when the dangers of misunderstanding, miscalculation or inadvertent conflict are greatest," Burns said at a luncheon at the Fifth China-US Relations Conference, held at Texas A&M University in College Station.