Security talks opportunity to set right tone for ties

It is good news to all concerned about the state of China-US relations that their second Diplomatic and Security Dialogue will finally be held on Friday in Washington.

Although it remains to be seen how far the meeting can go in arresting the slide of bilateral ties amid the current trade impasse, that it is being held at all indicates they have a shared willingness to exert some control over the situation.

There has been a growing conviction that recent US moves regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea are meant to extract more Chinese concessions on trade. Whether or not that is the case, Beijing and Washington need in-depth communication over security and diplomacy in general, to improve their "trust deficit".