Consultation, not a trade war, will settle bilateral disputes

The trade friction between the United States and China does not signify a tipping point in the Sino-US relationship, experts have said, even though the two countries have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods.

After the conclusion of the hearings on the US administration's proposal to impose 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in Washington recently, some US researchers and a top Chinese envoy said they believe cooperation and consultation can resolve the bilateral issues.

"I would say we're nowhere near a tipping point," David Dollar, senior fellow at John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution, said when asked if the world's top two economies, locked in a blistering trade dispute, are approaching a tipping or turning point, as some critics suggest.