China and US need to deepen mutual trust

The participation of hundreds of senior officials from the two governments and more than 200 deals made the seventh China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the sixth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, which ended on June 24, a great success. In a joint press release, the two countries vowed to "cooperate closely in preparing for a productive state visit by President Xi Jinping to the United States in September".

The depth, breadth and fruitfulness of the dialogue were unprecedented and somewhat unexpected for some observers, who are used to reading reports on disagreements and even tensions between the two countries in the media.

The gap between the spreading negative perception of China-US relations and the often ignored mutually beneficial nature of their relationship have for long been a paradox. This is more so because China talks more about the positive sides of the bilateral ties than the US administration, not to speak of the media. Moreover, public impressions tend to underestimate the real strength and potential of the bilateral ties, which above all is the result of the absence of strategic mutual trust.