Xinhua News Review | Maintaining Healthy, Stable, and Sustainable Development of China US Economic and Trade Relations

A new round of China US economic and trade consultations is imminent. In the current context of weak global economic recovery and turbulent international situation, the international community generally expects China and the United States to move towards each other and inject more certainty and stability into their economic and trade cooperation and the world economy.

Since last year, the two heads of state have taken concrete actions and maintained good exchanges at the highest level, providing important strategic guarantees for the improvement and development of China US relations, and also promoting the overall stability of China US relations after ups and downs.

Both China and the United States have conducted five rounds of economic and trade consultations, achieving a series of positive results, which fully proves that to ensure that these two giant ships of China and the United States move forward together without deviation or stall, we must adhere to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state without wavering, implement the important consensus of the two heads of state without discount, and adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation without relaxation. Both sides should jointly implement and maintain the consensus reached by the two heads of state, properly manage differences through equal consultation, expand pragmatic cooperation, and safeguard the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China US economic and trade relations.

The achievements of the previous five rounds of economic and trade consultations also prove that as long as both sides uphold the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, and through equal dialogue and consultation, they can find solutions to economic and trade differences. In the recent Kuala Lumpur consultations, both sides reached a series of consensus on the implementation of the US 301 measures on maritime logistics and shipbuilding to China, the extension of the equivalent tariff suspension period, fentanyl tariffs and law enforcement cooperation, agricultural trade, export controls, etc. Subsequently, the US China economic and trade teams have maintained close communication at all levels through the economic and trade consultation mechanism, timely exchanging views on implementing the consensus of the Busan Summit and the Kuala Lumpur Economic and Trade Consultation, and addressing each other's economic and trade concerns.

Resolving the structural contradictions and deep-seated differences accumulated in the long-term economic and trade relations between China and the United States cannot be achieved overnight. Since the beginning of this year, there have been some new trends. The United States announced the imposition of import surcharges on goods from all countries and regions under Article 122. Subsequently, the United States launched 301 investigations on 16 economies, including China, and 60 economies, respectively, citing "overcapacity" and "failure to ban the import of forced labor products," causing global trade uncertainty to rise again. China is closely monitoring and will comprehensively evaluate the relevant measures taken by the United States, and reserves the right to take all necessary measures to firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests. The key to achieving positive progress in the upcoming new round of economic and trade consultations lies in whether the US can uphold a pragmatic and rational understanding of China, and follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation in its actions, effectively moving towards the same direction as China.

The common sense of "cooperation brings mutual benefits, while confrontation harms both" between China and the United States has been repeatedly verified through practice, and "mutual achievement and common prosperity" between China and the United States is a visible and tangible reality. The new round of economic and trade consultations is both an opportunity and a test. Both sides should take into account the long-term benefits brought by cooperation, uphold an attitude of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, extend the list of cooperation and compress the list of issues, strive for more positive progress, open up new cooperation space for China US relations, and better benefit the people of both countries and the world.