Mutual understanding key to trade talk success

China and the United States have agreed to start fresh talks in Washington "at an appropriate time", which is a positive development to avert an all-out trade war. Now the two need to think thoroughly how to achieve more consensus in the talks to push forward the healthy development of bilateral trade relations.

The key principle the two sides have to abide by should be mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual benefits, which is in the interests of both countries and without which the talks risk being deadlocked.

The China-US trade differences have been brought to the brink of a dangerous trade war by Washington's unilateral actions, despite China repeatedly expressing its commitment to solving their disputes through dialogues. But since coercion has not worked, it has now softened its stance.