Talks are well and good, but actions speak louder

After weeks of escalating tensions in the trade spat between the world's two largest economies, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to China for talks. There is "a very good chance" of making a deal, he predicted.

Let's hope that optimism is not unfounded. That the torrent of words contains at least a trickle of changed intent. For although this may signal a respite in the tit-for-tat tariff announcements, unless the substantive discussions the two countries had last week have given him cause for confidence, his words alone do not suffice to dispel concerns that there is a trade war on the horizon.

Beijing has said it welcomes Mnuchin's proposed visit. But there is no reason for it to relax its vigilance. Especially as both Trump and Mnuchin have implied that it was Washington's actions that have pressured Beijing into promising further opening-up.