Trump should not be blasé about possibility of trade war

The Chinese and United States economies have become so closely interwoven through trade in the past decades that a trade war would be costly, potentially debilitating, for both countries, with neither emerging a winner.

Based on their common awareness of this, both Beijing and Washington have treaded prudently on trade issues, despite their quarrels. Since neither can afford to cut trade ties, they have to find a way to get along anyway. And nothing works better than constructive engagement in resolving trade disputes.

A businessman himself, Donald Trump knows the importance of mutual goodwill when it comes to trade, and the harmful potentials of its absence. So even as he threatened Beijing with a very big fine for alleged theft of intellectual property on Wednesday, the US president stated he doesn't want a trade war.