Actions to maintain healthy trade ties must be reciprocal

Patience often prevails over force when confronting a problem. Many difficulties that cannot be overcome in one go can be overcome when tackled little by little. It is such an approach that is hopefully paying dividends in the economic and trade talks between China and the United States.

Although the two sides reached consensus on some key issues during the Washington talks last month, and they agreed to put a trade war on hold, the statement released by the White House on Tuesday, announcing that it was intending to go ahead with its plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese high-tech goods, cast a shadow over that agreement and raised doubts about how productive the weekend talks would be between the world's two biggest economies.

However, the outcome of the discussions suggest that the two sides have continued to adopt a constructive attitude in their negotiations, which has enabled them to make progress.